Final Fantasy VII End of Crisis
by cloudsword
Summary: The sequel to New World Crisis. Yuffie and the others are attacked and injected with Red Mako, and a new villain arises to take Sephiroth's place, Cloud on the other hand has lost almost all of his memories. Will he get them back? Read and Review!
1. Ch 1 Then Was Old, Now is New

**Final Fantasy VII – End of Crisis**

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Final Fantasy VII characters or any Final Fantasy VII rights. That would be Square. This story is purely fictional and the second half of a dream I had. Enjoy!

**Chapter 1 – Then was Old, Now is New**

He could hear the wind as it whistled by him, but he couldn't feel the ground or anything else for that matter. He felt as his body was weightless and the most soothing wind was trying to lull him to sleep. He didn't know where he was, he refused to open his eyes. He didn't know that he was flying through the air, or in this case falling head first. The boy had wild spiky dusty blond hair that flapped in the wind, but never flattened, and a sleeveless black turtleneck that was decorated with brown leather suspenders and a single steel shoulder guard over his left shoulder. His black pants were baggy and tucked into his brown leather combat boots. When he did hit, he sank into a large pool of green water like liquid. He didn't even try to struggle, instead he let his body either float or sink, he really didn't care which he did.

Yuffie was just restless, she knew he was out there somewhere. She could feel it in her soul. It had been two days, a long time in her opinion, that she had been separated from her new husband and she wanted him back now! She knew she was being selfish but she didn't care, she missed him. "Where are you Cloud?" she asked as she looked to the sky while carrying a bag of groceries. Her silky strait black hair touched her shoulders as she walked, and the green sweater she wore matched perfectly with her long blue skirt, and green sneakers. When she arrived at the corner game shop she ran with her brother in law, James, she opened the door, only to find the same thing she saw both of those days, her husband was still missing. "Back already shrimp?" James asked. "Not now James!" she said sadly. "James' smile vanished, "We all miss him you know." he said trying to be understanding. "I know." she said as she passed by him, and opened the door leading to the second floor living room of the place. "But it's still hard." and with that she walked up stairs to place the groceries away. She began thinking, and feeling with her heart as the groceries found their way to the shelves and into the refrigerator. 'I have to find him myself.' she decided, and shoved the last of the groceries into the fridge. "Going to look for him are you?" James said. Yuffie turned to look at him with an innocent look on her face, "What makes you say that?" "You put the milk in the cupboard and the cereal in the fridge." he pointed out. Yuffie turned back to the cooling machine and opened the door, only to find out he was right. She had indeed placed the Wheaties and the Cheerios inside the fridge. "Sorry." she said s she pulled them out to redo the order, "I guess I 'm just a little distracted." "Go for it!" James said suddenly." Yuffie stopped in the middle of placing the first milk jug into its proper spot, "Huh?" she asked. "Go find your husband, don't let anything stand in your way." he said to emphasize his point. "But what about the shop?" she asked getting a little nervous, "I got it all under control. Besides if I need help I'll just ask Tiffa and Barret to step in." he told her smiling, "Go get him kid!" he whispered to her, and literally pushed her out the door. Yuffie turned back to the door, "I'm more adult than you are!" she shouted. "Oh yah, real mature Yuffie!" James responded. Yuffie walked down the stairs, thinking about her words, "Yah probably not the best thing to say in this situation." and exited the building to begin her search.

The boy wouldn't move, couldn't move. He just let himself float there, in the middle of an unguarded Mako Pool. It seemed as if his world was separate from reality. His eyes stayed closed as he let even his worries, memories and fears wash away. He didn't know how long he had been there, hours, days, it didn't matter to him, he was at piece. His piece was disturbed when he heard a loud splash, as if something or someone had jumped in. Then a small petit hand grabbed him by his right shoulder and he felt himself move not of his own free will. He felt as the girl, he knew it was a girl by the hand, pulled him onto the shore. He finally let his curiosity get the better of him and he opened his eyes, the girl, was an 18 year old woman with long wavy strawberry red hair, and an angel's face. At the moment she was wet and her hair was pasted to her face, all he saw was her face, but he couldn't tell what was happening or why. He found out quickly that he couldn't talk for some reason. "You could have drowned in there." she said with a southern belle accent. "Let's get you to the farm house before my lazy boyfriend gets back from his beer run." with those words he found himself slipping again back into unconsciousness.

Yuffie had been searching for hours, she ran along the tops of buildings, not really caring who looked up and saw her. She was on a mission, but she felt as if she was being followed. She quickly turned around and saw, nothing. "Maybe I'm just getting paranoid!" she reasoned, only to spot what she knew was the shine off of a gun from the building across from her. She jumped into the air just in time to hear the gin shot go off and something red speed by underneath her. She quickly Mako Shifted, changing her restricting skirt into the freedom of short tan shorts, and her green sweater into a sleeveless green cotton turtleneck, adorned with a full arm guard that started with an enormous left shoulder guard and covered her arm in metal covered in a beige cloth. Her shoes changed into brown boots, with leg warmers starting from her knees and resting on her shoes. She also made a giant four point Shuriken appear out of the green magical wisp in her free right hand. "Son of a…" she said as she found herself under fire again, but this time from multiple directions. She quickly manipulated herself so that she could use her Shuriken to deflect each shot. When she finally landed, she ducked behind an air vent and the shots stopped. "What the heck?" she whispered and soon heard the squeals of a car speeding off. She quickly looked over the edge and saw a black van with the insignia of MH3 painted onto the sides moving quickly off to the freeway. "What the heck was that about?" she asked mostly herself, "I'd better get home and tell James about this." and with that, she made her way back the same came, by roof top. When she arrived back at the shop, she found herself almost tired, not something she was used to. Walking into the shop revealed her brother in law James at the cash register, "Hey there Yuffie, you look worse for wear! he said teasing her again. "That's because I just survived a firing squad almost literally." she told him as she passed by him. "Oh hold on there!" James suddenly said and made his way around the counter to her. She felt it when he grabbed something and pulled it out of her. When she turned around to look at him, he was holding up a small needle dart. "That was what they were firing at me?" she asked. "What was in it?" James asked. "Something red I know that. I saw one as it nearly hit me." she told him. "Well this one did hit you. Let's take this to Vincent, maybe he can help us figure it out." James said as he flipped the sign on the window to show closed. The two of them closed shop and James locked up, before the two of them made their way to find their friends.

The boy opened his eyes again only to find the girl sitting up and watching him. The room he was in was defiantly cramped, small as it was, he fit in their perfectly, "How are you?" she asked. He didn't even want to talk, couldn't talk, he let his mind drift into blankness as she continued to chat with him, "I'm ok today, he didn't hit me today. That's a good sign, it means I did everything right today. He's gone for another beer run, but he'll be back again, hopefully he'll be sober enough to leave me alone the rest of the day. I guess I should be happy he hasn't raped me yet. I've heard of girls he's done that to. But I can't get by without him." she told him even though the boy never once said anything, "I guess you name is Cloud! At least that's what this pretty name tag says!" she told him as she showed him the guard badge he had in his pocket. "It's a nice name, my name is Aerith, Pappy wanted it to be Aeries like the constellation but he had a lisp something awful." she said and quickly looked at her watch, "He should be home any minute, I got to get going, see you next time." she said quickly, Cloud wanted to keep his eye on her but found it almost impossible to move his head, and his consciousness slipped from him entirely.

"What color did you say it was?" Vincent asked. "Red, definitely red!" Yuffie answered trying to be funny, only James laughed at her impression. "That bad huh?" she asked. "Hey!" James called out not liking being ignored. "Whatever it was has been completely injected into you. I'm going to have to find out what it actually was." Vincent told her and quickly exited the house through the back yard, before jumping into the air and seeming to disappear. "Does he always do that?" James asked. "Yah, kind of creepy." Barret said. "I think it's cool, I want him to teach me to do that." James said, getting excited. "It figures!" Barret said.

Vincent made his way silently to a building he knew all too well, the main office of MH3. The actual building was a strait up science building, with MH3 branded on the front of it. 'They never did like to hide too much.' the cloaked man thought to himself and jumped to be on the roof. The cloaked man landed silently and snuck up to what he knew was an air vent and listened to what he knew was the voices of the developers. "So the injection was successful." he heard. "Yes actually, one of our testers got the girl in the back of the neck with a lucky shot." Another person said, the second person Vincent couldn't recognize, but he knew the first voice belonged to one of the first people he met on the MH force, the person now went by Dr. Alexander. "It wouldn't have needed to be a lucky shot if your men knew what stealth actually was!" Alexander said. "What was that stuff any way?" the unknown person asked. Suddenly a third person with a cranky crackly voice spoke up, "A person like you wouldn't understand the brilliance even if it was explained to you! The Red Mako you just injected into that girl was still unstable, yet Alexander decided to test it." 'Red Mako?' Vincent asked himself. His questions were conveniently answered by the new scientist, "Not only will it slowly neutralize her Mako Powers but it will eventually eat her alive, and we still have no idea what will happen if regular Mako comes in contact with it at all." 'Still not stable? Alexander what have you done?' Vincent thought. "Then do what you have to in order to keep the public from finding out that it's deadly to those injected with it." Alexander said. "Yes sir!" the first person responded, and Vincent knew he had to go.

**To be continued…**


	2. Ch 2 Then We Wait, Now We Fight

**Chapter 2 – Then We Wait, **Now We Fight**  
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"I'm going to die?" she asked in shock. Vincent slowly lowered his head, hoping not to look her in the eyes, "The Red Mako that was injected into you was still unstable, apparently as it neutralizes the regular Mako already in our system, it becomes more and more acidic, eventually eating through you alive." he said, only confirming Yuffie's fear. "Man that sucks." James said, hanging his head, "I liked teasing her." Tiffa quickly stomped on his foot with her Mako Shifted kicking boots, "ENG!" he grunted. "You're not helping!" she growled through her teeth. "Cloud…" Yuffie whispered, "Where are you when I need you?" and allowed a single tear to travel down her cheek. Vincent began thinking as hard as he could, and something clicked, "I did hear that they don't know what will happen if it comes in contact with untainted normal Mako!" Tiffa lifted her head the highest, "So a Mako Pool might just be our only cure!" she said excitedly. "Sweet, now we just need to find one close by." James called out and pumped his fist into the air. "That aint all that easy kid, those things are guarded tighter than a rubber band ball." Barret announced. "Only from the ground." Cid said and removed himself from the wall, "If you yaywho's trust me enough, I'll show you a secret I've been keeping from everyone except my wife Shera!" "We trust you with our lives Cid." Cait Sith said to the captain, "What's the secret?" Red XIII asked, finishing the sentence. At first Cid was skeptical, but he eventually leaned in forward, "I can change my fishing boat into an airship." he whispered. Yuffie was the only one to gawk, the others looked like he was crazy, "Like Cloud can change that rickety old Harley into an armored motorcycle from Hell!" she whispered in awe. Everyone turned to her, in both confusion and concern. "When I got grabbed off of the street by MH7 and their crazy van, Cloud grabbed an impounded Harley Davidson and it kind of changed into this…well motorcycle from Hell is the only way I can describe it." she told everyone. "Kid is a treat every time I hear of him." Cid said in admiration, "Well who's comin, and who's stayin behind like a chicken?" he suddenly asked the entire group.

Cloud slowly regained consciousness, and all he could hear was yelling, from a man he knew nothing of. He also heard crying, the crying of the girl he only slightly remembered saving him. The girl that pulled him from the Mako Pool, the Sothern Belle named Aerith. 'I'm sorry' she would say all the while crying, pleading for him to stop hurting her. Instead of remorse, Cloud heard another slap, or a punch to somewhere on her body. "I'm going out for another pack of beer, and when I get home I'd better see a better dinner on that table!" the unknown man shouted and the door slammed shut. All he could hear was her crying as she came closer to where he was being held. When the door opened, he tried desperately to move his head over to look at her, but all he could move was his eyes. When she finally did come into view, he could see the bruises all over her face and the cuts that traveled up her arms. Even as they healed right in front of him as she whispered to herself. She turned to him, after she was done, and smiled, "So you were awake for that?" she asked, knowing full well that he probably wouldn't respond. "He was completely drunk again, it seems to be getting worse." she said as she bowed her head. Cloud let his eyes blink in a response, it was all he could do. "You seem to be getting better with time. Let's just hope my deadbeat boyfriend doesn't find you before you get better completely. Maybe you can help me get away from him." she said and got up sadly to try her hand at making a better dinner for him. Cloud didn't want to, but his eyes slid closed and he once again slipped into unconsciousness.

"This thing is huge!" Yuffie said as she stumbled into the cock pit of a very real airship. The white exterior was coated in metal, with an elongated shape and sharp nose. The propellers on the top of the wings spun in reverse of each other keeping the machine in the air. On the bridge, Cid stood there at the controls, a large ship wheel surrounded by gauges and buttons. "And you made this from a small commercial fishing vessel?" Cait Sith asked in wonder. "Yup, all part of the Cid Casts Mako Infusion Package." the Captain said in his Mako Shifted state. The cigarette that hung out of his lips was quickly snatched by a woman with glasses and long brown hair. "Shera!" he complained. "It's for your own health Cid, you never know when they'll really hit you." she said to him, and substituted the cigarette with a large toothpick. "Damnit woman!" he cursed, and she shot him a very disapproving look. "She thinks she's a scientist or something." he explained to a very confused Red XIII. "Doctor, Cid! I **AM** a Doctor." she corrected him. "Yah, for animals!" he retorted without getting mad. Red XII and Cait Sith instantly hid behind Barret's massive legs. "That reminds me, you got to give those two their shots." Cid said as he nodded towards the cub and cat. "Yipes!" the fox cub called out, and took off as deep into the Airship as possible to hide. "Traitor!" Cait Sith called out and chased after him. Shera just smiled and walked off to find them before they became impossible to find. "Go get em, Shera!" Cid called after her with a smile. Yuffie suddenly fell to her knees seemingly for no reason. "Yuffie, are you alright?" Tiffa asked as she ran to the fallen girl. "Just a little dizzy is all." Yuffie told her and attempted to stand, wobbling on her knees. "It's the Red Mako isn't it?" Tiffa asked in a worried voice. Vincent was the one to answer her, "Yah it is." Yuffie was forced to simply give the caped man a glare, and not even her best one. Suddenly a bright flash and loud boom came from below them, and the Airship shook violently. "What was that?" Yuffie asked. "We're being shot at, genius!" Cid called back to her. Suddenly another blast was head, and the shot sailed right in front of the cockpit. "It's probably that man I heard taking orders from Alexander. They're trying to kill Yuffie before the Red Mako does." Vincent told them, right before one of the shots hit the side of the ship putting a hole in the cockpit. "DAMMIT, YOU BASTARDS ARE GOING TO PAY FOR ANY DAMAGE DONE TO MY BOAT!" Cid shouted, and almost missed it when Yuffie once again lost her balance, tumbling out of the new hole in the ship. Tiffa tried to catch her, but missed. "YUFFIE!" she called out to the screaming girl. When Vincent dove out of the ship, and sped towards her, Yuffie panicked even more, he didn't have a parachute. 'Cloud where are you?' she asked in her mind.

Alexander was pleased with the display of cannon fire, and his binoculars allowed him to get a close up of the people he was trying to eliminate. His smile was even bigger when he saw the girl fall from the ship, but it disappeared completely when he saw the person fallowing, trying to save her, "Vincent?" he called out, and pushed a button on a receiver box on his desk. "Get me those archives, the ones I had on the Mako Infused people we were after." A female voice followed his demands, "Yes sir." Alexander turned back around and placed his binoculars back to his eyes, "Don't you die on me, especially if you are the real Vincent." he whispered.

Vincent caught up with her fall, and grabbed her flailing hand, before spinning her around and throwing her, to the top of a building nearby. He quickly curled into his cape and right before hitting the ground, uncurled to reveal a large furry Purple beast, with horns about as long as Yuffie's arm. The impact the new Vincent had with the ground, created a crater in the concrete almost ten feet wide and a foot deep. The beast roared loudly as if he were howling at the moon. When the sirens of the Mako Hunters sounded in his ears, he turned to where they were coming from, and ran off to escape. Yuffie ran down the fire escape as quickly as she could, trying to keep from sight, but her shoes clanged across the metal grate as she ran. The moment she reached the last of the platforms, a straggling Hunter rounded the corner and looked up at the noise. "HEY!" he shouted and aimed his rifle at her. The bullet struck solid brick as Yuffie jumped over the railing and landed on the ground with a roll. She quickly got to her feet and ran as fast as she could trying to get away from her. The hunter followed as cautiously as he could, but simply refused to call for back up. "If I take you down myself then I can finally move up from this grunt position." he whispered to himself, addressing Yuffie. 'Why is this happening?' Yuffie thought to herself. As she ran, more bullets flew by her, narrowly missing her head and arms. She ran for almost thirty minutes, ducking into empty alleyways and tipping over trashcans to slow her pursuer down. In one particular alley, the Hunter knelt down to get a stable position and lined up his sight, "I got you now girly!" he whispered and pulled the trigger. The gun he had clicked, but never fired. "Damn!" he cursed, and threw his rifle to the ground, before pulling out a pistol from his belt and resuming his chase. Turning the corner, Yuffie found herself in an abandoned part of the city, and for good reason, the ground had collapsed around most of the buildings revealing a block sized Mako Pool. Out of fear, Yuffie ran to hide inside one of the closer buildings, before the Hunter arrived. "Alright girl, where are you?" he asked, more to himself. Yuffie tried to sneak up the stairs, but about half way, she was forced to stifle a cough. Her condition was getting worse, and she knew it. "Aha!" he called out and headed towards the stairs. Yuffie took off up the stairs, quietly, by removing her shoes and stepping on her toes trying to quicken her pace without alerting her pursuer. She followed the stairs all the way to the top, about five stories up or more, and exited on the roof. She put her shoes back on and ran all the way to the edge of the building, and found the next building was almost two building widths away because of the collapsed ground. "Now what missy?" she heard from behind her. Before she could turn around, she heard the pistol in the man's hand go off, and felt an intense pain radiate in her back, around where her kidney was. Placing her hand on the spot the pain started from, she found it warm and wet. Looking at her hand, she saw blood, and lots of it. "that was for making me waist my rifle ammunition, those bullets are expensive. They take it right out of my paycheck." he told her and squeezed the trigger again. This time the shot hit her in the Shoulder, and she looked to see that her Arm guard had vanished completely. "I guess they were right, I do need to work on my aim!" he said to her and smiled, this time making sure he was aiming at her heart. Yuffie let herself fall forward before the gun was shot, and fell into the Mako Pool, as the bullet sailed over her. The Hunter then walked to the edge of the pool and looked down, "Hello?"he called out, and his answer was a bright flash of green light, before the Mako Poll itself started to churn and spin. The whirlpool originating from the very spot Yuffie sank. "What in the?" he called out as the Mako level lowered right in front of his eyes, "Is she absorbing it?" he asked himself.

Vincent, stil in his beast form, ran through town, swerving back and forth as the group of Hunters followed him. Powering his arms to propel him forward, and landing with his feet to launch forward again. making him faster than anything he had ever been before. When he saw the airship that Cid called the Highwind, come into sight, he pushed even harder, causing his beastly body to move even faster. He suddenly jumped up to a nearby roof, and hooped fro roof top to roof top, making his way to the safety of the ship. Flexing his powerful legs, he launched himself as far as he could, and used his massive clawed hand to grip the railing of the deck, and haul himself over. As everyone came out to meet him, he curled into a giant ball, and let his fur melt back into his cape as his body shrank back to his original size. "What was that?" Tiffa asked. "Galion Beast. One of my many transformations." he answered, and collapsed down to the deck in a heap of red fabric and black leather. "You must be exhausted, Barret, take him to his quarters to rest." Shera ordered, and Barret just about had a fit, "What, hey I'm a foot ball player, not a F#$% Nurse!"

The Mako Pool was almost half gone, "Only a few minutes and she absorbed all of that?" he asked, and watched as a splash from the center of the spiral revealed Yuffie. She moved so quickly that he barely had time to turn around with a shocked expression before she touched down on the roof. When he did see her, she had completely changed, she now wore a black head band with almost two foot tails, and a dark colored vest over top a black sleeveless shirt with a Hawaiian floral print. Her shorts were now black as well, and the long black leather boots came up to her knees. She still had her platinum grey eyes and her shoulder length black hair. She also wore what looked to be black knee guards and a black fabric forearm cover on her left arm. In her right hand, she held a giant shurikan, but a much different one than normal. This shurikan was red and had five large points. The circle that surrounded it near the blade points was just as sharp and deadly looking. The five handles on the inside, made for a wonderful five point star look. "What the hell is that?" the Hunter asked. When Yuffie looked at it, she too was amazed, Then she steeled her gaze, and the Hunter noticed that all of her gunshot wounds were gone. "That's not possible." he said as he panicked. "Don't fall!" was all she said and jumped to a far away building, clearing the Mako Pool easily, starting her search for her husband again.

Cid landed the Highwind down inside the dock he had made for it. The dock was just that, a winter docking house with a roof that opened up so he could just fly it out. Closing the roof of his dock he allowed everyone to exit the ship before he returned it to normal. "Damn!" he cursed as he looked at the hole in the side. At the moment, he was happy that it was out of the water. "You ass holes know how much this is going to cost to fix?" he shouted. "Hey no problem, I'll just pay for it and everything will be just fine!" James offered, "In exchange you take me to the best adventure spots." he added, and Tiffa clobbered him in the back of the head. "OW!" he called out, "You're brutal!" "And you're just stupid." she retorted. "I liked Yuffie's comebacks better, she actually had class!" he mumbled, "And they hurt a lot less." "Darn right, that might have actually knocked some commonsense into you!" they heard Yuffie shout from the entrance. Everyone turned around to see the new Yuffie. "What happened to you?" Cait Sith asked. "The Red Mako, after it has been stabilized by real Mako, can actually be used to make weapons." she announced as she flashed her brand new Shurikan to the others. "How did you know that?" Tiffa asked. "I just did it," she tried to explain, "I'm going to call this thing, the Conformer!" "And Cloud?" Vincent asked, only to have Yuffie slump her shoulders, "Still nothing." she sighed, "But I'm not giving up, he's out there somewhere, and I'm going to bring him home to me."

**To be continued…**


	3. Ch 3 Then Was Confusion, Now it's Clear

**Chapter 3 – Then Was Confusion, Now it's Clear**

Cloud let his eyes slide open, who could sleep actually? He was surprised that he was for out for so long with all that racket coming from outside his room, or stairs. He quickly remembered the nice girl that helped him recover, and surprisingly, he could move his fingers. "NO!" she would scream over and over, Cloud could hear the scrapping of feet along the ground and her 'Boyfriend' probably dragged her, but to where? "Come on Girly!" he heard the mysterious man say, and the scrapping stopped to make way for the stomping of boots as they neared and passed the door that hid him. Slowly Cloud lifted himself from the mattress he lay on, and stood to his feet. He didn't know why, but he had a bad feeling that things weren't right. As soon as he was steady on his feet, he moved, like a zombie, to twist the door handle and exit his little room. 'Struggling!' was all he thought as he heard the girl's screams become muffled with what sounded like sloppy attempts at kisses. His steps slow and heavy, he wondered if anyone could hear him as he walked down the hall, towards the noise. When he did approach the door that separated him from the two others, his lifted his bare foot, and with one strike, kicked the door off of its hinges. He didn't know what to make of the situation he saw, the man was straddling the girl's waist, holding her down and his hands gripped a loosened belt. Her pink dress was also pulled up so that her panties showed, her white blouse had been ripped near the collar so that it hung across her bra, and she looked as if she were about to cry with fear. "Help Me!" she shouted, and the man whipped the back of his hand across her face. "Shadup!" he said, his words slurred together. 'Is this what being drunk is?' Cloud asked himself, and the man quickly removed himself from Aerith. "Who are you kid?" he asked and reached under the bed to pull out a shotgun, "Get out of here before I blow your brains out." with that the man pointed the gun at Cloud, who he noticed was stark naked. Lowering the gun a little he glanced at Aerith, "You been hiding him from me?" he asked. "He was soaking in the Mako Pool, Clark, he was recovering…" she tried to explain, but once again the man backhanded her across the cheek. "I said Shudup! You skank, you been cheating on me with this guy, well let's see how you fell with his guts spilled across the hall!" "No!" she shouted as Clark again pointed his shotgun at Cloud. Out of instinct, the naked man lifted his right arm over his head and clenched a loose fist, as if he were holding something, and brought his left hand out like he was pushing against the lower side of a wall. Right before the gun went off, a green flash of wispy light engulfed Cloud momentarily and the pellets ricochet off of something metal. The second after the flash of the gun, the man noticed something strange, the man in front of him was once naked, now wore a black slightly open zip up cotton shirt, with a long wide sleeve and smooth shoulder guard adorned with a lion's head on his left side. The black leather pants he wore buckled in the back near the bottom of both legs, and sported a kind of half apron on his left side. The black combat boots he wore under his pant legs only completed the look and he held up a sword big enough to cover himself if he turned sideways. The red handle was nearly a foot and a half long, maybe more, and the flat hilt was shaped to fit the blade, but the blade, looked to be made from almost three different swords from the side. "What the…" Clark began, but was surprised when Cloud brought the sword around slicing though the ceiling and the shotgun in one swing, burying the blade in both the carpet and the cement foundation. Panic spread throughout Clark's body, and he ran around Cloud before exiting the house and hopping into his beat up truck to drive away. Cloud stood there a few seconds, before he glanced back at Aerith, and without a word collapsed to the floor unconscious.

Yuffie jumped from roof top to roof top, trying hard to find him, unfortunately she had already searched the entire city for him. "Three weeks." she said out loud, "Three f#$% weeks, and still no Cloud." Yuffie plopped down on the edge of the roof, dangling her leg over the edge and though. She remembered the day she lost him, the explosion, the spirit of Sephiroth, and her Brother-in-law, James, fighting against him as Sephiroth. Then a thought hit her, "What if he was on top of the explosion?" she asked, and jumped up to get a higher view of the place where they fought, the high school football field. Upon reaching it, she looked around, the hole where the underground Mako Pool had been was now filled up, and new turf had been placed down so that no one even knew there had been a battle here. "Must have been 4expensive." she surmised, and lifted her eyes to the sky. 'You could have been flung anywhere with an explosion like that.' she thought, 'But you always lean to your right when you fight.' Turning around, she looked at a specific direction, to the west of the field. 'Maybe that will help me find you, but I'll need some help.' and with that she jumped again making her way to find her friends, and hopefully the repairs to Cid's boat were finished up. As she arrived, she saw from the window, a glow, and heard a hissing noise like nothing she had ever heard before, cautiously, she crept into the harbor house and gazed into the very room she heard the noise. What she saw was Cid, welding a piece of metal to the hole in his boat. "Dam bastards, gunnin us like that." he complained to absolutely no one as the sparks flew. Yuffie breathed a silent sigh of relief, at least her friends were safe. Her mind instantly fled back to her lost husband, Cloud. She remembered his smile, his confident blue eyes, and his wild spiky brown hair. Chuckling a little, she remembered the morning on their honeymoon when she attempted to braid his hair, trying to give it a reason for standing up. He wasn't exactly happy with how he looked.

Again Cloud opened his eyes, only to be greeted by a familiar face, now if he could only put a name to the face. Her shoulder length black hair tickled his nose with a scent of wild strawberries, her favorite shampoo. He gazed deep into her young grey glowing eyes, and remembered, "Yuffie?" he asked, only to be answered by a different voice than he remembered her having, "Who's Yuffie?" the southern belle asked, and the image melted into that of a ginger haired girl, no older than 18. Her angel face stained with old tears and her hair was tousled about as if someone had roughly grabbed a hold of it. Her clothes were torn at all of the most inappropriate places, and the large bruise forming on her cheek let him know something bad just about happened. At first all he could remember was that name, Yuffie, the name of someone he loved, someone he cherished dearly, someone he had given his heart to. All at once, the memories of his recent rescue came flooding in, telling him exactly what he needed to know. Cloud placed his right gloved hand on his forehead, trying gently to ease the headache he just got, and sat up to look at the girl, "You alright Aerith?" he asked. She wanted to cry, but held it in, "I am, thanks to you." she said, "He really would have done it, if you hadn't stopped him." she said this more to herself, trying to let that fact sink in. As the realization hit, she placed her hands up to her face, shielding her tears from the man sitting there. Cloud turned his head, he wanted to help but for some reason felt it would probably lead to something stupid, and until he knew just who this Yuffie was, he wasn't going to take any chances. "I should have done this earlier, but he owned Pappy's house, I just couldn't leave it with him." she cried out. Now Cloud felt his own heart strings begin to be plucked, and he placed his hand on her shoulder, letting her know he cared. "We should leave." he said quickly, "Danger is coming." he explained, and grabbed his sword from out of the ground. The moment it was free from the ground, it vanished in the same wisp of green mist that caused it to appear. "Can you teach me to do that?" Aerith asked through her tears. "Later, do you have any way to move quickly?" he asked, and she pointed out the window, towards what looked to be a tool shed. "Clark keeps a beat up old motorcycle in the tool shed." she told him, "He wasn't about to let me have a vehicle." and with that Cloud grabbed her arm, and dragged her out of the house, towards the shed. The moment they got to the shed, Clark reappeared from over the horizon, with a team of Division 2 Mako Hunters. Instead of fooling with the look on the door, Cloud simply grabbed it and ripped it off of the actual door frame before slipping into the building with Aerith in tow. The Mako Hunters filled the driveway with vehicles, and flooded the front of the house with solders, the commander sitting back and watching with the civilian, Clark, Standing next to him, "You're sure he made a large sword appear from nowhere?" the commander asked. Clark nodded his head, his adrenaline alone keeping him sober. The commander lifted a Mega Phone up to his lips before shouting, "Alright Mako Freak, Come out with your hands up, let's make this quick." Suddenly the loud roar of an engine could be heard from inside the shed, "That doesn't sound good." one of the closer solders whispered, and a loud crash was heard from the back of the shed, before Cloud and Aerith road away on a jet black armored motorcycle with what looked to be golden parts. The entire body looked as if it were armored, and the front was elongated with the front wheels being doubled up and Cloud's hands covered in the large front shield of the bike. "Hang on." was all Cloud said, his eyes now covered in darkened goggles and his hair flying wildly in the wind. Aerith tightened her grip on Cloud, as the two of them sped away, leaving MH2 and Clark scrambling to reach their vehicles before they made a clean get away.

**To be continued…**


	4. Ch 4 Then it Crashed, Now it Works

**Chapter 4 – Then It Crashed, Now It Works**

Everything seemed like a blur to her, they were moving so fast she couldn't see what moved by her. She squeezed the man in front of her, holding on for dear life her large breasts squished against his back. Cloud shook off the inappropriate thoughts that came to him, and continued to drive quickly attempting to keep the distance between him and the Mako Hunters, while trying to keep his thoughts centered on this Yuffie person, he knew she was special to him, but he wanted desperately to remember why, and Aerith's DD's weren't helping. Cloud found a rest stop close by, and quickly pulled in, ready to clear his mind of what was now pressed against his back. After parking, he tapped Aerith on her shoulder, telling her she could let go, "If you have to pee go now, we might not have the option of stopping later." he told her, to which she nodded and dismounted. He too moved off of the bike, and as soon as he was about ten feet from the motorcycle, it shifted back into a rusted old blue hunk of junk. Cloud glanced at the machine, wondering how in the world he made such a nice bike from that hunk of metal. Shaking his head, he journeyed towards the restrooms. He actually exited before Aerith did, but not by much as she pulled out of the restroom with her right hand pinching her nose, "It stinks in there!" she complained and turned to find Cloud standing there waiting for her. "Will you teach me now?" she asked as she neared him. At first Cloud looked like he had no idea what she meant, but it quickly clicked, "Fine!" he said and moved towards the open grassy area of the Rest Stop.

Closing his eyes, he reached out his right hand, and in a wisp of green energy, formed a slightly different sword than usual. This sword had the same handle and a similar hilt to the sword he possessed earlier, but the hilt looked as if it had collapsed, and the blade of the sword looked to be two different blades that were held together by a thin piece of steel with what looked to be eight holes in it going all the way up. Aerith lifted her eyebrow in a slight confusion, but Cloud acted as if it were the very sword he had revealed earlier. "The trick to Mako Shifting is focus. Know what you want and it will give you what you need." he told her, and she nodded, still a little confused about the two different swords. Aerith closed her eyes and concentrated, only to find…nothing. She dropped her face in a slight frustration, and Cloud spoke up, "Don't give up, you are closer than you think." he said as he held out his left hand. Suddenly a sword appeared in it, a sword that was large yet single bladed that brought the blade over the handle in the back. Cloud quickly stuck the second sword in the ground, and unfolded the hilt on the first, before collapsing the blades of it together. He just as quickly grabbed the second sword and opened its handle, before sliding it over one side of the transformed sword and clipping it into place. Aerith gawked in awe as the two swords became one mechanically, fitting together like a puzzle. Closing her eyes again, she focused even harder, and felt what could only be described as a tingling feeling, like a spider crawling up her legs. This quickly alarmed her and she shot her eyes open to find that the bottom of her torn pink dress had fixed itself and the dress was changing into an even darker shade of pink with a wisp of green energy. The energy retreated with her broken concentration and she looked up at Cloud, "Don't be afraid of it," he said as he again pointed his left hand and created another sword, this one was thin and single bladed, with eight kind of half circle notches in the back even though the front looked like the back and vice versa when it came to the tip. He flipped the sword so that the blade faced up and slit the base of the handle into the first sword's hilt behind the second sword and clipped it into place. Again he created a similar sword in his left hand and clipped it into the sword puzzle right next to its twin making what looked to be a blade on the back of the gigantic sword. "It won't hurt you, but you have to let it flow through you in order to control it." Aerith nodded, and gulped, Cloud was so much more powerful than she thought, and she closed her eyes again. The feeling came back, and this time she shivered, but tried to keep her concentration until it reached her head and flowed upwards, making her entire body fell warm and light. Opening her eyes she looked down at herself her cloths had changed from torn up clothing, into a full pink dress that hugged her curves and accented everything she had. Over the top of her dress, she wore a maroon coat with what looked to be a metallic sleeve ends, as well as heavy looking bracelet wrist guards. On her feet she now wore brown hiking boots that wrapped around her ankles perfectly. Looking up, Cloud once again pointed his left hand at her, and created another sword, a short sword that looked like the sword he had in blade, but looked to have a quarter cog as the hilt and a black handle. He flipped it in his hand and the sword folded so that it was all blade, and clipped it to the side of his sword that it matched. "The weapon is just as simple, a need to protect your friends will help to bring it out." he explained as he created what looked to be the short swords mirror, and clipped it to the other side of the sword he had, near the main hilt, finally creating what she remembered to be the sword he used against her drunken ex-boyfriend. Aerith was just about to ask what he meant when he swung the sword at her. She initiatively lifted her arms and muttered, "Barrier." to herself. Cloud was surprised when his sword bounced off of thin air, making a definite clang, almost like bouncing off of a metal shield. Curiously, he asked, "What was that?" Aerith lifted her eyes, slightly scared, "I think I preferred Clark." "I wasn't really going to hit you, most people learn from fear or desperation, instead you were able to stop my sword with magic, how were you able to use the spell you wanted?" he asked genuinely curious. In disbelief, Aerith lowered her arms and glanced at Cloud, "You can't?" she asked. Cloud turned and pointed his left empty palm at a nearby tree, "Fire!" he called out, but instead the tree froze over, encased in ice. "I see!" she said, "It's just natural for me!" but was unable to say much more, when the two heard the loud roar of V12 engines and saw the black vans of the Mako Hunters approaching the rest stop's entrance, "Let's go!" Cloud said and grabbed her arm pulling her towards the rickety rusted bike. The second he touched it, the bike itself Mako Shifted into the armored black bike she and him road on, and they quickly mounted to escape. Turning abruptly and placing his outside foot on the ground as an aid, Cloud rocketed towards the exit, with the Vans following close behind.

"Don't let them escape, those monsters need to be exterminated before they hurt someone." the commander called out through the CB radio. Cloud and Aerith flew down the highway at breakneck speeds, with the Vans barely keeping up. Cloud looked back just in time to see the van doors open, and a four of their solders pop their heads out of each, with automatic weapons. Aerith screamed the moment she heard the guns go off, and Cloud swerved to keep both him and his passenger from getting shot. The swerving caused him to slow down, but only enough that the vans had no more trouble keeping up. "How fast does this thing go?" Aerith cried out. "Not really sure." he yelled back as he used his right hand to flip a hidden switch and the front sides of the bike opened up, revealing all six parts of his sword, each of them separated, fitting into their own slots perfectly. "I'll see what I can do; you stay still and don't lean. If you have to, use that barrier spell of yours again." And with that, he pulled two of his swords out, the main sword and the sword that looked like it was all blade. He instantly jumped high into the air, causing almost all of the gun fire to either follow him or stop in amazement. With a flip, he landed on top of one of the vans closest to him, and drove his main sword through the hood and slicing clean through the engine block. Almost in the same second he jumped again taking his swords with him and making his way to the next van. He was immediately seized upon by a shower of lead, and he brought his other sword in front of him to block, the impact of the bullets, slowly pushed him back, and he quickly dropped from the sky, only a little off target. As he passed by the front of the van he was targeting, he grabbed the hood, and allowed his feet and sword tip to drag the ground underneath. Looking up, he glanced right into the driver's wide surprised eyes, and used his arm to launch himself into the air, causing his blade to slice clean through the engine of the vehicle. "I'm not paid enough for this!" the driver whispered to himself as his van suddenly tried to turn both ways at the same time, and skidded to a halt, spilling all of its oil, coolant and fuel onto the street. Again the shower of bullets rained on him, and again he blocked with his swords only this time he positioned himself perfectly, so that he dropped on the third van square on the hood, plunging his sword through the engine and again jumping off to land in front of Aerith on his motorcycle. "You ok?" he asked as he slipped his two swords back into their slots and closed the shields, but was answered instead by the sound of a shotgun going off. Turning her head, Aerith saw a familiar face and old beat up red pick-up truck. "Clark!" she said, "Clark is still chasing us!" she shouted to Cloud. "How many shot guns does that guy have?" he asked. "Three, he used to like going out with my Pappy to hunt ducks and pheasants." Suddenly another shot went off, barely missing the two of them. "Did he actually hit anything?" Cloud asked, only to be answered by Aerith casting her barrier spell, and Shot gun pellets ricocheting off of the shield. "Ok, that answers my question." he said. "Trust me, he never misses when he's sober." she warned him. Cloud quickly revved his engine with his right hand, and kicked it into a higher gear with his right foot, suddenly moving fast enough that he couldn't even hear Aerith when she screamed in surprise at the burst of speed. Cloud kept the speed up as long as he could, moving around cars or trucks when they showed up. Aerith actually braved a glance at one of the cars they passed, and saw the excited look of two teenage boys and the shocked look of their father. "It's hard to breath!" Aerith called out, but her voice was left back with the wind, so he didn't hear her. She quickly glanced down at the speedometer, and was shocked to see it say, 237 MPH. 'Even Clark's fastest car can't top this speed.' she thought to herself, before she felt her body weaken from lack of oxygen, and she tugged on Cloud's sleeve. Cloud turned his head to glance at her, and saw her face turning a slight shade of blue. 'She can't breathe at this speed.' he told himself, and turned off of the road the first chance he got, making it off-road until he could duck behind a large bush and parked his motorcycle, letting her catch her breath. "How do you stand that?" she asked after her breathing had caught up to her. Cloud simply shrugged his shoulders, and revved up the engine again, this time riding off at a more reasonable speed.

Yuffie sat there, her brand new jeans hugging her hips and the green sneakers cushioning her feet. She twisted the fabric of the dark green tank top she wore over her light blue long sleeved undershirt, playing with it and pinching it between her fingers, her left hand playing with her shirt, and her right hand supporting her chin. She was, to be put simply, board out of her mind. She was now forced to stay home, she had searched the entire city, and until Cid was done with the repairs to his boat, which he insisted he do by himself, she was technically grounded. At the moment she was sitting on the couch of the house she shared with her brother-in-law, James, who had gone off to who knows where. She sighed loudly, and grabbed the TV remote from the table in front of her, to switch the TV on. She channel surfed for a few seconds before something caught her eye, it looked like a three Van crash and some guy in a kind of lumberjack outfit getting arrested. The Vans however had what she knew was a MH2 insignia quickly panted over with shiny black paint. Just as well they all looked to have had their hoods and engines slashed apart. Somewhere in the back she could see what looked like someone moving in the bushes, a lot of someones. "Mako Hunters, trying to do a cover up? What happened?" she asked and got the volume to rise. _"Earlier today, three vans were attacked on the Universal Freeway hear in Midel by what appeared to be Mako Monsters. It has been the third outbreak this year, and very little details were given. We were told that the first creature has what experts call a male human disguise, with uncanny leather black cloths and a strange unfamiliar black motorcycle. The second of the two appears to be a Mako Infused girl. The intentions of this situation are unclear as police have arrested convicted Rapist and Killer, Clark Marentis at the scene, rambling about the Monster kidnapping the Mako Infused Girl. We now go to Clark Marentis for a interview."_ The Reporter, said as she moved towards one of the police cars, to catch the 'Lumberjack man' as Yuffie put it. _"Please Mr. Marentis, what can you tell us about the monster?" _She asked, and the man turned to the camera. _"He has spiky brown hair and a sharp face, you can't miss the giant sword he uses either!"_ he shouted to the microphone, just as Yuffie switched the TV off. "Midel?" Yuffie asked herself, "That's almost six hundred miles away! Cloud how did you get there?" From behind her, James spoke up, frightening her "He always did things that don't make sense!" she didn't even turn to show she was scared or startled, instead she bowed her head, "I bet you he rescued that girl from that rapist. He was always good at helping others." James told her, getting Yuffie to lift her head to look at him, "Hey if I know my brother, he would do everything to stay loyal to the people he loves, that includes only falling in love with one girl at a time Yuffie. You got nothing to worry about." Yuffie smiled, her worries finally fading into a calm and peaceful feeling, she quickly turned from him, "I wasn't worried for a second!" she said, and folded her arms across her chest, pressing her breasts into her chest. James glanced at the watch he kept on his left wrist, "You're right, it was about two minutes of worry, a Yuffie Gaia record." he said snidely and walked towards the kitchen. Yuffie stammered in her response, trying desperately to find the right words, she just opted to stick out her tongue at him and pout. "Very original!" James said to her sarcastically.

Vincent knelt down, letting his tattered cape flutter in the winds. All he did was stare at the building, the same building he had been watching ever since Yuffie was injected with the red Mako, the laboratory he found Alexander in. "Tell me your name!" he heard from behind him, recognizing the voice immediately, "Evening Alexander Castle, and you know who I am!" he retorted. He silently heard the click of a gun being lowered back to someone's side. "I wouldn't have believed you if you hadn't refused like that, you always had a way with words." Alexander said, "Vincent Valron!" Vincent twitched at his real name being used like that, so casually with no fear attached. Vincent quickly whirled around to grab Alexander by the collar and slam him back first against the closest wall. The man he saw had graying blond hair, and a slightly wrinkled face, he also wore a white button up shirt that he kept the top two buttons undone and wore a lose orange necktie around his neck, almost as if he'd been drinking, but he didn't smell of booze. "I see no reason why I shouldn't just kill you right now?" he whispered coldly. "Please let me explain…" Alexander choked out. "I'm not talking about the Red Mako, I'm talking about Lucrecia!" he growled angrily. "I didn't have a choice…She was changing into a Mako Monster…It was the only way I could save her." Alexander tried to say. "You didn't save her, you trapped her, immortal in crystal, unable to move and unable to die!" Vincent's red eyes began shining in his anger, and his arms shifted to look like a patchwork of massive arm parts sewn together. Electricity began surging across from the shoulder, slowly making its way towards his hands. 'The Death Gigas!' Alexander thought in panic and finally choked out, "She asked me to!" In that moment the electricity faded and Vincent's arms shrank back down to their original size, "What?" he asked. "She…said something…about…something she had to…tell you!" he gasped. With that, Vincent dropped him to the ground, allowing him to catch his breath. "What did she want to tell me?" he asked, looking at the man coldly. Alexander coughed, trying to let his breath steady and shifted so that he was sitting against the wall, "I don't know, she wouldn't tell me!" he told the red caped man. "If you're lying…" Vincent threatened, only to be interrupted by his old friend, "Hey I loved her to, ok. She was **my** sister!" he shot out, and leaned against the wall again. Vincent's gazed softened a bit then sat next to Alexander, "So why the Red Mako?" he finally asked. "It was designed by the head of MH3, a type of chemical warfare against those who become Mako Monsters." Alexander answered. "Do we look like monsters?" Vincent asked coldly. "You almost did!" Alexander joked. Vincent actually chuckled, "You got lucky, I would have kicked your ass into next week, then asked for the winning lottery numbers." Alexander laughed out loud at that, "Hey, that only worked once!" he countered, "So, you got Death Gigas?" he asked. "And Galian Beast, Hellmasker and Chaos!" Vincent added as he held up three fingers on his right hand, counting the other transformations he had. "Damn Division 7. Always doing things without asking!" he said, and pulled out a picture of a beautiful castle. "Remember this?" he asked. Vincent simply nodded, "I was planning on taking her there, either on vacation or," "I say your honeymoon would have been a better idea." Alexander interrupted, and again glanced at the picture, "I also still say its towers look like gorilla arms!" The two laughed again, until they heard a gunshot, and Alexander grabbed his arm in pain, and pulled out a similar needle to what Yuffie brought to him. "What?" he asked in shock. "I didn't bring them here!" Alexander told him, and the two jumped to their feet, only to have Vincent catch one in the back. "Gah!" he shouted, and reached around to grab the dart, and pull it out. "Let's go!" Alexander yelled and grabbed Vincent's wrist before running, at that moment, a shower of bullets struck right where the two friends were standing. Vincent felt his strength deplete quickly, "What is this? Yuffie took several days to feel its effects like this." he asked. "This feels like a more concentrated dose, looks like they really want to see those results." Alexander told him. "So why did they hit you?" Vincent asked as he pulled out his Cerberus gun. "I guess I should have told you that the head of MH3 is what others consider a mad scientist, he lives for science and is always asking questions." "Like Lazarus!" Vincent said mostly to himself. "Yah, this guy is…" he didn't get to finish as another shower of bullets forced them to keep moving.

Vincent quickly turned the corner and pointed his gun, the moment he saw a Hunter, he fired, only to hear it click. Alexander popped out from behind him, and pulled the trigger of his own gun, shooting the approaching Hunter and three others that followed him. "Forget to load?" he asked, and Vincent reached into the pouch he was supposed to keep his bullets, only to find them missing, and his Cerberus gun, fading into a green wisp of fading power. "No gun, no ammo!" was his reply as the two of them watched the tri-barreled gun vanish completely. "Shit!" Alexander whispered as he looked around and pointed his gun to shoot another Hunter. He felt his hand go completely numb causing him to drop his pistol. Vincent immediately bent over to pick it up, and shot another Hunter that appeared. "There!" Alexander said as he used his good hand to point to a church across from them. "That church was abandoned because of a Mako pool, filled the entire basement after smashing through the ceiling and first two floors, they never reopened it." "How do we get to the basement, it's probably locked up tight?" Vincent asked, and Alexander smiled, "We go up and jump!" he suggested. The second they arrived at the doors of the place, they also found themselves under fire. Vincent shot back, never missing even once. "Damnit, it's locked!" Alexander cried out, and Vincent pushed him aside before shooting the actual door lock. "Not anymore!" he said, and the two of them entered into the building. The inside of the building was that of a regular church, pure white walls, statues of holy figures, and rows of benches for the public to sit. "I used to go to church hear with Lucrecia and mother. This place had the best view from the second floor." he said in memory. "We really don't have time for reminiscing!" Vincent warned his friend, "Yah I know, but the stairs are fenced off." he argued, "How many slugs do we have left?" Vincent quickly pulled out the magazine, finding it empty, and then weighed the gun. "One!" he warned. As Vincent slipped the Magazine back into the gun, Alexander began looking around, almost as if looking for something, and quickly pushed against one of the wall panels, making it crack open. "Climb in and up, I'll be right behind you buddy!" Vincent handed the gun off to Alexander, who placed the weapon back into his holster. The two began climbing up the wall in the back, a few minutes later about six Hunters burst through the door, tearing it off of its hinges. One of them noticed the missing side piece and ordered the other two to blow the gate, while he climbed up.

Vincent climbed the inside of the wall, noticing the hand holds that were carefully carved into the side. "Yah, I know, it was me. Not the smartest thing to do to a church." Alexander explained. "There, lift that wall piece up and climb through." he suddenly stated. Vincent did just that, not surprised that the wall piece sung back easily, probably on hinges. Vincent easily slipped though, followed by Alexander, who grabbed a nearby vase and dropped it into the narrow space between the walls. In seconds the two of them heard a crash and the scream of the Hunter as he fell the decent distance back down. Like teenage children the two of them gave each other a silent high five and proceeded to make their way to the other side of the church, only to hear a small explosion. "Damnit, C4!" Alexander guessed and the two turned to run through the closest door. On the other side, was what looked to be only half a room, and a holy alter, the marriage room. Vincent looked around, finding the room **was** a beautiful sight, "If I did ask her, this would have been where…" Vincent said as he made his way to half of the floor, only to turn around and see Alexander pointing the gun at him with his working hand. When the gun went off, Vincent grabbed his side, the place he was just shot. "Why?" he asked and began backing up as Alexander slowly walked towards him, and dropped the empty gun. "Little bit of research showed that it is necessary for the one absorbing Mako to have an open wound." Alexander said with tears in his eyes. Before the two of them knew it, they were both standing at the edge of the missing floor. "Don't worry buddy! I'll keep them company!" he said, and used the last of his strength to push Vincent into the Mako Pool, two stories below. As Vincent fell, he could only watch as his friend flopped to the floor, dead. His vision was quickly flooded by the iridescent green of Mako as he sank to the bottom.

**To be continued…**


	5. Ch 5 Then I Sinned, Now I'm Forgiven

**Chapter 5 – Then I Sinned, Now I'm Forgiven**

Mako Hunters quickly entered the room, seeing only the body of what once their superior, Alexander. "About time! He was always more trouble than he was worth." one of them said through their mask. "I don't know, he always did what he felt was right, you know?" another said and bowed his head in respect. "Seriously, that guy had an air of self-righteousness to him that just made me want to strangle him." a third said to his companions, flexing a half closed fist to emphasize his point. "Not me," said the second, "He always made me feel like what we were doing was the right thing, the new commander makes me feel like it's all wrong!" Almost out of nowhere, a fourth one pushed his way between the second and the first, "It doesn't matter, the Red Mako killed him before we did. That stuff is toxic even to those without Mako infusions. Now where did the red caped one go?" Looking around the half room, the group split up. "I'll just check down the hall!" the second said, and exited the room. "He just doesn't want to see his favorite superior dead on the ground." the first teased, and continued his search. "At least he didn't go around trying to sleep with other people's wives!" said the third. "Dude, I told you, if I'd have known, I wouldn't have flirted with her!" the first said as he turned around. "Yah, well it cost me my marriage!" the third shot back. "Shut-up you two!" the fourth said as he peered over the edge. "Something's down there!" he told them. The three of them peered down, into the depths of the Mako Pool. A large red spot sat in the shallowest part of the pool, unmoving. "Shouldn't that Mako be deeper?" the first asked. "Heh, that's him. Sinking in enough Mako to down a…" the third never got to finish, he was quickly silenced by a loud pop, and a bullet to the head. "Shoot him! Shoot him!" the fourth shouted and the remaining two open fired. The red spot in the Mako moved like lightning, swimming around the shallow pool with the speed of a tiger shark. Never once did they actually hit their target. Two more pops were heard from the pool and the first Hunter fell, with one bullet in each side of his chest, one in the heart and one on the other side, mirroring it. "Damnit!" the last one shouted, and continued his shower of lead, until one last pop, came again from the spot in the liquid. Instead he was forced to drop his gun. He watched as it tumbled down, down until it struck the solid ground near the edge of the floor that once was there. Shock was prominent in the way he watched his weapon fall into the mud two stories below. He shot his gaze back up when he heard what sounded like a flutter of fabric. What he saw was a tattered red cape swirling around like a portal or whirlpool, as it jumped from broken plank to plank, and final sailing over top of him, landing on the floor behind him. The fabric stopped completely, and rose from the floor, black hair, long and unkempt, cascaded down to the small of the back the top simply held up by a thick red head band. The left arm stuck out from the tattered cape, garbed in what looked to be a brass claw gauntlet that started from his elbow and covered everything to his fingers. The right hand was garbed in black leather, from finger tip to shoulder, buckles strapping across the forearm until they nearly reached his elbow. When Vincent turned to gaze at his pray, his red glowing eyes held what could only be counted as anger. His pale skin reflected the glow his eyes gave off, making him seem like he weren't human, but daemon. Turning completely around, Vincent showed that like before he wore a full body black leather outfit, but this time with more buckles holding everything together. The gun he sported in his right hand looked strikingly like an antique rifle, but with a deadly looking barrel and chamber. "What the…" the Hunter began, until Vincent lifted the gun to point at him using only his right hand. "My friend, my revenge!" he said, and pulled the trigger, the shot that came from the gun, rang out like a canon blast. The bullet sailed out of the barrel a speeds defying all logic, and pierced through the Hunter's heart in its heat, making a sure line from the end of the barrel to the unseen wound in the man standing there. It was like the man wasn't even hit, but he didn't move. Seconds rolled by, and the man stood there motionless. Vincent closed his eyes, and flipped his new gun before letting it disperse into the red wisps of Mako it had been made from. In his holster sat Cerberus, shiny and new. The moment he turned his back, a splatter of blood shot from the Hunter, forcing the man to tumble backwards, dead. Vincent knelt down near his deceased friend and placed his right gloved hand on his back, "I did it again, I couldn't save you or her. My sins just keep piling up don't they?" As soon as he had asked that question, Alexander began to shine red. Faint at first, then increasingly brighter the glowing encased the body. "No!" Vincent commented and stood up to place his hand on Cerberus. The glowing soon faded, and in his friend's place, sat a small red orb no bigger than a marble. Vincent slowly removed his hand from his gun, and bent down to pick up the small red gem. "No more crying buddy!" he heard Alexander say. Vincent's eyes when wide, turning around to look for his friend, hoping that his death was just a bad prank, no such luck. "You didn't save me because I saved you. That's what best friends' do." the voice said, and Vincent turned his gaze to the red marble in his hand. "Now quit whining and go get 'em!" Hope filled Vincent's heart as he slipped the small orb into his pocket, and with a steel glare, marched out to the entrance of the church, using his new gun to blow open the gates, making the trek easier. The moment he opened the door to the church, he came face to face with at least half an army of Mako Hunters, all bearing the badge of MH2. "You will all die for what you have done! This evil masked with good intentions will be stopped. I sentence you all…" Vincent said and lifted his new gun, pointing it at the nearest Hunter, "To the Death Penalty!"

Yuffie tapped her foot as she watched the fisherman work. the sparks held her attention for only a second and then she fell into boredom once again, "Are you done yet?" she asked for what she could only guess was the hundredth time in what, four hours, more? Cid growled loudly, and roughly put the grinder on the ground, "Damnit kid, shut-the-hell-up! I'm working as fast as I can here!" he yelled from across the empty building and grabbed his grinder again to begin his work again. Yuffie smiled, but only for a second, teasing him was just too easy and she was in desperate need of some entertainment. She quickly looked around the open dock for something to keep her mind off of the hard working man in front of her. She tried imagining him as Cloud, the mask and thick apron helped to make the transition easier, but the red hair made it almost impossible. "Wish I could make a motorcycle out of junk!" she muttered. "I think we all wish we could do that!" Tiffa said as she sauntered up behind her young friend. "Hi Tiffa, Barret treat you nice on your date?" Yuffie asked. Tiffa beamed at the mention of her husband's name, "You betcha kiddo!" she said happily. Yuffie went into teasing mode, ready to make someone blush. Her eyes narrowed knowingly and her smile went from joyful to mischievous, "I know that look all too well!" she whispered to the taller girl. Tiffa let her cheeks turn pink and her eyes shrank in embarrassment, "Wha…what do you mean by that Yuffie?" she stuttered. Yuffie puckered up her lips without moving her head, and made a loud kissing sound, "Hubba, hubba!" she said. Now Tiffa's cheeks were burning, and the taller girl reached for her, only to have Yuffie jump up and take off as fast as she could. Tiffa ran after the ninja, trying to get her to pay for the embarrassment she was causing. "Done!" Cid finally shouted, and the two girls stopped in their tracks to glance at him. "She's all patched up and lookin like new!" he said as he rubbed his hand along the smooth surface of the spot where there once was a gigantic hole. "Whoa!" Tiffa said as she looked at his work. "It's like it never happened!" "Great now we can continue our search and I know just the place to start looking!" Yuffie cried out as she hopped down and dodged two of Tiffa's punches before she jumped again to stand next to Cid. "Outside of Midel! That was where the news said people saw him." "How the hell did that kid get all the way over there?" Cid asked. "Who cares, we got to find him!" Yuffie complained. "Agreed!" everyone heard Vincent say as he walked through the door. He stood there, the Death Penalty in his hand, Cerberus at his hip and not a scratch on him, "You look good Vincent! Upgrade?" Yuffie asked. Vincent smiled, and let out a silent chuckle, "Yah, upgrade!" he agreed and walked over to the ship, rubbing his hand across the smooth welds. "Nice!" he said as he turned to Cid. The fisherman smiled proudly and patted the ship before holding his hand there and allowing the Mako in his veins to transform the boat back into the airship. "Now, who wants to go find our friend?" he asked.

Cloud sat there, pondering his next move. He had already rented two rooms at the nearest Red Lion, one for him and one for Aerith. He quickly concentrated on the face he knew belonged to the girl, that special girl Yuffie. He had memorized every detail of her, yet he didn't know why, until as he looked inside his mind, he saw a shinny ring on her left ring finger. Cloud glanced down at his own left hand, seeing it covered in black leather. He slowly removed the glove from his hand, finger by finger until it slid off easily. There on his ring finger sat a beautiful golden wedding band. Curiously he slipped it off, and glanced inside, finding a small engraving. _Love you from day one, and always! _it said. Cloud focused on that single engraving, and fond that it brought fond memories with it. Their wedding, their honeymoon, even the day they met. The day he accidentally walked in on her in the shower, the day she accepted his proposal and the day of their first date. His heart did back flips as he remembered, and his head cleared up slightly, letting all those wonderful memories flow. He noticed others in the background, but his focus was centered on his wife. He was brought out of his revere when he heard a knock at the door of his hotel room. Placing his ring back on his finger, he walked over to the door, behind it stood Aerith, wringing her hands nervously. "Can I help you?" he asked, only slightly irritated that she got him to stop remembering. "Is this a bad time?" she asked. "Bad time for what?" he asked her. "Well," she said as she walked into his room trying to find her courage, "I was a wonderin, if…" she tried to say, "you wanted to get lunch, you know…" "You mean a date?" he asked. "Yah!" she said. "Sorry Aerith, I just remembered her before you got here. Yuffie is my wife!" he told her as he held up his left hand, hoping not to offend or upset her. "Oh! Sorry!" she said sadly and tried to leave, "But, I might have some friends that could be right for you, maybe even a brother, I just don't remember." he mentioned. Aerith bit her bottom lip in thought, Cloud had been honest to her throughout the entire trip, "Come with me, and help me find Yuffie. I promise it will all work out." he told her. Smiling slightly, she nodded and exited the room to go back to her own, happy at least that Cloud wanted to be her friend. Cloud closed the door to his room, and turned to look at a white space. "You handled that well!" a monotonous midrange voice said to him. The boy turned around to see someone with wild spiky blond hair and glowing blue eyes wearing the same cloths he had. He stood alone with this look alike. "I wouldn't have if I hadn't remembered." Cloud admitted. "No," the blond said, "I think you would have. Your mind may have forgotten, but your heart remembers everything about her." Cloud simply scoffed, "And what about you? Who does your heart remember?" he asked the blond man. The blond simply smiled, "Everyone!" he told the brown hared boy, and everything went back the way it was. Cloud blinked away his confusion, and placed himself on the bed, within minutes, he had fallen asleep, dreaming of the memories he had with his wife Yuffie.

Aerith punched her pillow, lightly at first but progressively gave it more force. 'Stupid girl, stupid. He's married, how did I not see that when he called me Yuffie?' she thought to herself. She finally stopped her assault on the fluffy cushion in her hands and buried her face to scream. 'He even had his wedding ring in broad daylight while I was taking care of him, how did I not realize that?' She finally stopped her screaming and slowly flipped around so that the back of her head was against the pillow, finally trying to get comfortable. 'He promised it would be alright. He hasn't lied yet, he just can't remember everything.' she told herself, "Hope he does have a brother, one as nice as he is." she said out loud, "And as good looking!" she added just for good measures. Finally closing her eyes, she dreamed about her old life, the beatings and the near rape that Clark gave her, and Cloud entering the room, but for some reason there were two others with him, one girl and one boy, both about his age and with blurred faces.

Tiffa tried to let her eyes close so that she could finally rest, but no matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't get to sleep. Something about sleeping in the sky just bothered her. She turned to the person she shared her bed with, the man she married, Barret, and found him fast asleep, or so he looked. "Barret?" she whispered as she gently shook him, if he was asleep, she didn't want to wake him up. Barret slid his eyes open easily, wide awake and ready to listen. "Can't sleep either?" she asked slightly embarrassed. "Nah!" he admitted, "Kinda nervous I guess. What's Cloud gonna be like when we find him?" he asked. Tiffa chuckled silently, "You're nowhere near as nervous as Yuffie is. The girl is so excited she won't even stay still." Tiffa told him. Barret snorted as he tried to stifle a laugh, "Yah, I know. I heard her as she walked by too. That girl can squeal!" he teased. Tiffa adopted a smile that screamed mischievous, "You want to hear a squeal, huh?" she asked, and Barret's eyes widened before he moved quickly to cover her mouth with his hands. The muffled squeal Tiffa let out was followed quickly by laughter, and a struggle to remove the football player's hands. Barret began silently chuckling as he wrestled with her, keeping his hands on her mouth as long as he could. Every time, she actually got his hands off of her mouth, he quickly replaced them as she tried to squeal again. He quickly resorted to tickling her, knowing every ticklish spot she had. Instead of squeals she now shot out with stifled laughter as she now tried to get her husband to stop his tickling assault. Their fun was cut short when they heard a loud thud from above them, followed by the stomping of booted feet. It sounded as if there were maybe ten or twenty pairs. "That's not Yuffie!" Tiffa said and shot out of bed with Barret at her heals. The two of them Mako Shifted as they ran through the halls, Barret turning into the rugged commando look, and Tiffa into her black skirt with white top and red suspenders. When they finally got to the upper deck, they spotted Yuffie as she fought her way through the sea of masked enemies. "What the…" Barret asked, and watched as one of them created a Shield, reflecting her standard shurikan. "They're Mako Infused?" Tiffa exclaimed, and turned just in time to see one of the solders swing a broad sword at her. Tiffa ducked as the sword's blade scratched Barret's gun arm, and drilled the man in the gut with her best jab. The masked man jetted backwards at the impact, and quickly fell to the floor, unconscious and winded. "They're not very strong!" Tiffa announced as she threw another punch at an approaching solder. Barret let loose with an endless spray of Mako Bullets, taking down all adversaries that approached him. "Who are these guys?" he asked. His response came in the form of another wave of solders, "Z Agents, remember the priority. GO!" one of them shouted, and they all rushed in. Manny of them felt to Barret's gun arm, some fell to Yuffie's shurikan, the few that got through, were instantly clobbered by Tiffa, until she felt a sting in her side. Barret watched from the corner of his eye as she grabbed at her side, only to pull out a dart, one he recognized as the one that held, the Red Mako that was injected into Yuffie. In his rage, he turned to the direction that the Red dart came from and sprayed his deadly shower in the direction he thought they were, out of a shattered window. "GRAAAAA!" he shouted as he continued to fire. Tiffa once again punched and kicked at any that got close, and before she could be overwhelmed, shots rang out from what she could clearly hear as a pistol. Vincent danced in the air as he shot his Cerberus into several Z Agents at once, bringing the Death Penalty out only to take out the far away ones. Cid soon joined the fray, swinging his spear with precise strikes, so as to minimize the time he left himself open. "Z Agents, he's not here! Retreat!" one of them called out, and the remainder of them leaped towards shattered windows, and outside, disappearing into the night below them. "What was that? Tiffa asked, and Barret stopped his spray of Mako bullets to turn to her with worry. He didn't get to say anything before he to felt a sting in his hind side, "YAHHHH!" he shouted in pain, and pulled the dart from his butt. "NOT FUNNY!" he shouted out the shattered window, and actually threw the dart as hard as he could.

**To be continued…**


	6. Ch 6 Then I ran, Now I fight

**Chapter 6 – Then I ran, Now I fight**

"Dang this sucks!" said James as he watched the last of the Z Agents disappear into the shadows below. "I slept through that whole thing." he continued as he slipped his shirt on and exited his room. Meeting up with the others inside the storage space that they were forced to fight, he began his string of complaints, "Hey, how come none of you…woke…me…" he quickly lost his train of thought when he saw the looks on everyone's' faces. "What happened?" he asked. "Barret and Tiffa got #$%& injected by a long range sniper, that's what." Cid shot back. "At the same time?" he asked in surprise. "No, not the same time you moron, at least five minutes apart." Yuffie shot at him. "Oh whew, if it had been at the exact same time I would have shouted out that it was a hell of a shot." he said relieved that he didn't have to compliment someone he thought was a 'bad guy'. Yuffie shot him her best death glare trying to shut him up. "What?" he asked, "All we have to do is fly to a nearby Mako Pool and let them go swimming, right?" Everyone glanced at each other, surprised that he had come up with such a plan on the fly. "On the way down, do you think you two could do some kick ass dives?" he spouted off, only to have Vincent come up from behind him and slap him across the back of the head, thankfully with his gloved hand and not his armored hand. "NGH! Damn!" he grunted in pain. "You earned that one!" Vincent told him, "Besides they need an open wound for it to work correctly." "What do you want us to do, poke holes in them?" Cid argued grumpily. "Light wounds will work right?" Yuffie asked. Vincent swung his head side to side, "Not sure, both of us were shot, which isn't exactly a 'light wound' in the slightest." "Yah, but you weren't fatally wounded like Yuffie had been which might mean that it just has to be a certain depth for it to be effective." James guessed as he rubbed the back of his head, trying to dull the pain. "Or that the opening needs to be wide enough for the Mako to be absorbed quickly, remember sword wounds are thin and can easily cut off blood from exiting the body." Shera said as she entered the room. "Huh?" he asked. "If you stand still from a sword stab, you will last longer than if it were a bullet hole, that's because the wound can stay closed for a longer period of time. If it were a gun shot, then the wound is already open and begins bleeding out immediately." she explained. The entire group stopped and gazed at her, all except Cid. "Oh yah. Told those guys at the bar my wife was smart and beautiful!" he shouted and grabbed Shera by the waist, pulling her as close as possible. "Damn right!" she said, and smiled brightly. "I don't know, will it hurt as much as someone tackling you?" Barret asked. "…Probably!" was all James said. "Ok then, I can take it." he said. Tiffa glared at her husband with a stern unhappy glare. "What?" he asked, completely unaware. "Let's do the shooting of friends at the last second ok?" Tiffa asked, nervous and slightly irritated at her husband.

The roar of the motorcycle engine sounded across the highway, letting all that could hear it that Cloud and Aerith were coming. Racing down the pavement with the rubber of the wheels underneath them, the two of them searched for his friends and what he knew was a family. "DO you remember where they were before you fell from the sky?" Aerith asked. "I don't remember even that, I'm just going on instinct here." he responded. "Aerith seemed to give up hope, "But I think there was a school, and some kind of explosion." he continued. Aerith looked up, surprised and hopeful, "Do you think it was in Midgar? There was an explosion at one of their High Schools about a few hours before you splashed down." "Midgar…where is that?" Cloud asked. "Keep going on this highway, follow the signs to Midgar, it's the fastest way." she told him, and Cloud punched it, causing the bike to speed up slightly. His mind raced with possibilities, mostly about what he would say when he finally saw Yuffie. Would he remember anything more? Was there anything important he was forgetting? Questions of all sorts ran through his mind as he raced down the road towards his destination. Yet for some reason, he wasn't scared in the slightest.

"There's one, right below us!" Yuffie called out, telling Cid about the sighting of a nearby Mako Pool. "Yah, those fences shouldn't be too much of a problem, it's the guards that we have to worry about." Cid responded. James walked up to the glass front, looking down towards the ground below, "Hey, isn't that the Mako Pool Robert used to guard?" he asked and pointed to it. "Probably, what did it used to look like?" Cid sarcastically asked. James was just about to answer when Yuffie stopped him, "If you actually answer that you really are an idiot." Instead he slumped his shoulders silently, finally bested by his sister-in-law. "That Pool looks perfect for the two of them; it will easily neutralize the Red Mako in their bodies. They should be fine in that." Vincent said. "How do you know that?" Yuffie asked. "It's just a hypothesis but I used the difference between the Mako Pool I fell in, before and after." the red caped man admitted. "It will save us right Vincent? There's enough Mako in that Pool for the both of us?" Tiffa asked. Vincent silently nodded, and Tiffa turned back to the view, "Then we'll be fine, we just need to jump in while bleeding right?" she asked, and no sooner did she say that, than the heard the ricochets of single shot bullets off of the hull of the air ship. "There! Now none of us have to do it." James said and pointed to at least fifty guards for the Pool, all shooting at them. To which Tiffa gave him a kick in the shin. "OW! Damnit Tiffa!" he shouted, "That hurts!" "Just be glad that I didn't give it my all, I probably would have broken your leg." she snapped. She walked to the closed door with her husband, hand in hand with Barret, seeing as his gun arm had already vanished. "You really shouldn't hit him like that." Barret said to her. "I know, he's just so much of an idiot, it makes me mad." she told him. "Listen, just not so hard ok, don't try to hurt him." Barret pleaded. Tiffa sighed as she grabbed the handle of the door, "I guess I still see that jerk who tried to kill Cloud and Yuffie all those times." she admitted and pulled the door open. Almost the same moment that it opened all the way, Tiffa received a shot to the chest, one dangerously close to her heart. "TIFFA!" Barret and James shouted at the same time. Barret grabbed her as she fell backwards, holding her on her feet, and quickly received a shot to his massive shoulder. James ran forward as fast as he could, and pushed the two out the door. "Make sure she stays alive big guy, I'd hate to see my best friends dead!" he quickly told him, right before the two of them completely exited the door.

The wind rushed through his ears, whistling as it passed by. He clung to his wife tightly as the two of them fell towards the Mako Pool. "Tiffa?" he asked as he heard the shallow breaths she took. "It hurts!" she gasped. "I know, sweetie, just stay with me ok?" he pleaded, tears spilling out of his eyes, tears of hope and loss. Her breathing quickly began fading, "I c…can't" she said, and closed her eyes, right before the two of them splashed down into the deepest part of the Pool. From a single point, a whorl pool formed draining the Pool at an alarming rate. "Is the Mako…shrinking?" one of the guards asked. Within minutes, the Mako Pool had been completely drained, and in the middle of it stood Barret holding Tiffa in his arms. She was completely covered in black, from the sleeveless leather top to her long skirt and what looked to be sneakers. The only thing that wasn't black were her red gloves, the gloves that pulsed with a otherworldly light. Barret on the other hand, was garbed in a white down vest, with a fishnet sort of shirt underneath. His pants were made of black leather and his boots looked industrial grade, but the biggest difference was his right arm. Instead of being normal or a gun, it was fully mechanical from the middle of his forearm to the tip of his fingers. He had a kind of pad or brace on his right elbow, and his Tribal tattoo was visible to all on his right bicep. "What the hell?" one of the guards asked in surprise. "Barret?" Tiffa asked weakly. "Yah?" he whispered. "Can you put me down?" she asked in the same voice. Gently he set her on her feet, allowing her to regain her balance. "I'm fine, thank you." she said as he tried to help her stand, and she enveloped him in a hug. "You saved me!" she whispered, and Barret returned the embrace. "Any time." he whispered, and looked up when he heard multiple clicks of guns. "What you fools pointing those things at huh?" he yelled, "No Mako, no Pool, no worries right?" All of the guards looked to each other, thinking about what he just said, only to look back at them, and see them flying away, holding onto a rope ladder coming from the Highwind. "LATER BOYS!" Barret called out as they flew out of range.

As the two of them reached the top of the ladder, with Tiffa on top, she noticed a hand come out. The short black glove gave her an Idea of who it might be. "Want a hand?" James asked. Tiffa looked to him in a shock that melted into a friendly smile. She quickly grabbed his hand before she was hauled into the cabin. James then reached down to Barret. Barret smiled mischievously and brought forth his new mechanical hand. The hand shrank into the arm, and quickly changed into three barrels in a triangle pattern with a kind of tube in the middle of them. James gawked at the spectacle, "What?" Barret asked with laughter in his voice. "Sweet!" James called out and grabbed one of the barrels before hauling him up. "That has to be the coolest upgrade I've ever seen." he said as he admired the new weapon. Barret quickly transformed his gun back into a hand, watching as James enjoyed the entire show, feeling very proud of himself. "Yah, it is, isn't it!" he said as he rubbed and patted the mechanical hand. "Show off!" Tiffa called out, and Barret simply chuckled at her words. Suddenly the lights went off in the entire place, and they could hear the engines stop. "SHIT!" Cid called out as he tried to keep the thing afloat, "We've lost power." he announced. Suddenly the Airship lurched to the side, and Yuffie was slammed against the window. "Oh crap." she said as she opened her eyes. Outside on the ground, stood an army of MH2 soldiers, and they were heading right for them. Suddenly Shera came stumbling through one of the bridge doors, she sported a nice shiner on her left eye, "Sorry Cid, I couldn't stop them." she breathed out. Cid ran to her, and caught her before she hit the ground, "What happened Shera?" he asked. "Remember those guys in black that attacked the ship for no reason?" she asked, Cid nodded in response, "They just attacked the engine room, and shut down the boiler. We'll have to restore the air compressor and refill the water tank before we restart it. It was lucky I hit the emergency shut off switch when I did." "$#%$" Cid swore, and gazed out the widow, at the army getting closer by the second, ant they were coming towards the army.

**To be continued…**


	7. Ch 7 Then I Knew, Now I Remember

**Chapter 7 – Then I Knew, Now I Remember**

"EVERY ONE, BRACE YOURSELVES!" Cid shouted seconds before impact. Everyone aboard, reached to grab something, or plant themselves in a nearby seat. Closing her eyes, Yuffie placed her head between her knees, and her hands on her head, and was lifted from her spot near the window the moment the ship slammed into the ground. The Highwind slid across the ground, digging a three mile trench as is moved. Slowly it came to a halt, stopping within a mile of the army, windows shattering and walls folding under the pressure of impact. Yuffie remembered hitting the floor, and then…black. Waking up from her unconsciousness, the first thing she heard was gunfire, lots of it. Lifting her head, she finally opened her eyes and let her vision adjust. What she saw was an all out war on her friends. Cid was crouched down throwing his spear at advancing foes; de-shifting it and making it reappear in his hand. Barret hand changed his mechanical arm into the gun and was firing away at the army, every once in a while he would launch a massive ball of blue flames at someone, hitting that person every time. Vincent had himself hidden behind some of the rocks and warped metal, poking out of his hiding spot to fire either Cerberus or the Death Penalty, sometimes even both at the same time. Tiffa was hidden behind the walls, keeping out of the line of fire and next to Yuffie. James, Red XIII and Cait Sith had made their way to the field, taking on all comers by themselves. James had changed, Mako Shifted into a sleeveless black coat with a hood he kept limp on the back of his neck. The silver shoulder guards were exactly like Sephiroth's and wrapped around the closed front of the coat. His black pants had large cargo pockets near the knees and off to the side of his legs, and his boots reached up half way to his knees. The Masamune he held in his right hand, whipped back and forth as he threw it around skillfully, taking down simply the weapons instead of the wielder. Every time he let himself get caught in a rain of bullets, he would let out a loud 'woop' of excitement, jumping around and dodging the lead as it rained upon him. "Oh yah, bring it!" he would shout, and land on the ground, only to jump again and swing the incredibly long sword in circles, blocking another barrage of bullets. In mid flight, he heard a launch of missiles and in seconds turned to see them high in the air. "Oh yah, now that's what I'm talking about!" he shouted and landed quickly on the top of a pile of rocks, crouching down as low as he could, James tightened his leg muscles to their maximum, and launched himself into the air, strait at the missiles. With quick precise jumps and slashes, he cut the heads off of all of the missiles, and ran their bodies into the others, until there was only one left. Gently he landed on the lone missile, and slashed the head off with a quick swing of his sword. Reaching down quickly, and a broad smile on his face, James grabbed the missile head with his free hand and jumped off of the missile shaft, flipping in mid air, slicing it clean in half. Gently he touched down and looked up, "Barret! Go long!" he shouted and hurled the missile head at his friend like a foot ball. Barret looked up and saw the deadly spiraling device, and quickly transformed his arm back. Panic set itself on his face, and he scrambled to catch it. Succeeding in that endeavor, he looked to James with an angry look, only to see and army of MH2 solders running at him. Instinctively, he crouched down into a football hike position, and ran at them. Each of the solders noticed the missile head in his arms, and quickly dodged out of his way. The moment he got through the crowd, he shouted as if he had just made a Touchdown, "Oh yah! Take that!" At the end of his shouting, he hurled the missile head at one of the trucks, destroying it on contact. Quickly he was picked up by Red XIII and dropped off back in his original spot. "Do you realize you just did what James would have done?" Tiffa shouted at her husband. "Give him some credit; James would have slammed the Missile head down at his feet." Cait Sith said. "And survived!" James added in.

The banter was interrupted by a loud rumbling that came from the sky. Looking up, they all noticed three very large missiles heading right for them. "Oh…that's a big missile!" Barret gasped. "Impossible," said Vincent in surprise, "the Hades Missiles are complete?" "Hades Missiles?" Yuffie asked. "Nice of you to join us." Red XIII said happily. "The Hades Missile project was supposed to have been canceled after I had been Mako Infused." Vincent continued, "They heads are filled with poisonous gasses that are deadly to those of us who are Infused with Mako, unfortunately it could also kill those that are not infused as well, just much slower and more painfully." "Oh yes, Bring it!" James whispered as the missiles got closer. "You're insane!" Yuffie shouted. As she watched the deadly devices get closer, she saw a speck in the sky as it shot from the ground straight at the large missiles, and cut one straight in half. What the?" she asked as she continued to watch. Whatever it was held on to the top half of the missile as it traveled to the second one. The speed the explosives approached soon showed the figure hanging on, but the image wasn't very clear or big. The second missile quickly split in half, just like the first, and the figure grabbed the top part of it, and spun in a circle. The more his spun, the faster he went, until he hurled the two missile tops into the atmosphere. "Now that guy is strong!" Barret said as the figure touched down on the third missile. The closer the missile got, the more Yuffie could make out, until she could see the spiky dusty blond hair. "CLOUD!" she screamed. Cloud quickly looked up to see who had shouted his name, and looked straight into her eyes. His mind whirled with thoughts, until he told himself that it needed to wait. This person, this girl was more important than the thoughts he had. Using his hand he pinched the wings so that they stayed in place, and with a mighty kick he turned the Missile skyward. Flipping in mid air, he righted himself, landing on his feet as he touched down, and only seconds later saw a massive explosion in the sky, obviously beyond the atmosphere of the planet. Cloud turned his angry gaze at the MH2 leader, the man with the beard, "I won't just sit back and watch you take the lives of others just because you label them 'monsters'. We have the same right to exist as you do." he said. "You abominations don't belong here." the man said and pulled the trigger of his gun, only to hear a click. Letting out a growl of anger, he turned his attention back to the boy with the large sword, "I will have my revenge!" he said and waved to his men to retreat. After the Battle field had finally cleared itself of solders and left Cloud and his friends standing there amongst the wreckage of the Highwind and the rocks of the field, Yuffie slowly took her first step towards him, quickly breaking into a sprint and wrapping her arms around him tightly. "I knew you'd come back, I just knew it." she softly sobbed into his chest. At first Cloud was confused, but the scent of her hair, and the warmth of her arms quickly told him all he needed to know, it was her, his wife. Slowly and gently he wrapped his arms around her shoulders and rested his chin on her head, "Sorry I took so long Yuffie." he whispered and tightened his embrace. "Dude! Awesome entrance!" James said as he walked up to his brother, Masamune still in his hand. Cloud simply looked at him quizzically, "I'm sorry if I don't remember any of your names." he said to the others. Everyone froze in shock, gazing at him as if they couldn't believe it, "You…don't remember them?" Yuffie asked. "No, sorry. Just you and everything about you." he explained. "Not even me, your twin brother?" James asked, slightly offended. From behind James, a sweet voice asked, "Are these your friends Cloud?" James spun around quickly, and dropped the Masamune. His jaw dropped at the beauty he saw in Aerith, "Wow." was all he could say. Aerith was wheeling the beat up old Motorcycle that Cloud had used to escape their pursuers. "Everyone, this is Aerith, a girl I rescued from her abusive boyfriend. Aerith this is Yuffie, the girl I told you I was married to. And apparently this is my twin brother, uh…" Cloud began to introduce, but James took over from there, trying to impress the girl, "James Gaia. Pleasure to meet you Aerith." he smoothly said as he moved to her and picked up her left hand to kiss it like a gentleman. Aerith blushed at the notion, "Like wise." she said shyly. "I'm Red XIII." the fox cub said startling her a little. "Call me Cait Sith." the transformed cat told her. "I'm Tiffany Barret, and this is my husband, Iareto Barret, but everyone just calls him Barret and me Tiffa." Tiffa told her. Cid scoffed a little as he picked up his wife, "Name's Cid Casts, and this is my wife Shera." Shera simply waved from her place in his arms. Vincent walked up to the crowd and nodded, "Vincent." was all he said. "Vincent what?" Aerith asked. Vincent glanced down at the ground, "Valron." he said quietly. "Well y'all, I'm Aerith Upton. It's nice to meet yah." Aerith said as she did her best curtsy to the group of friends. "And his real name is Robert." Yuffie said as she wrapped her arms around her husband again holding him as close to her as possible. "It is?" he asked. Yuffie looked up to him in a confused shock, "What **do** you remember?" she asked. Robert placed his right hand to her chin, "You, our wedding, how to Mako Shift, how to fight and protect," then he leaned in closer to her hear, "Our honeymoon." he said. Yuffie blushed furiously, but still wrapped her arms around his neck and planted a long deserved kiss on his lips.

Cid and the others spent the rest of the day fixing the boiler to the Highwind, and thanks to Aerith's ability for magic filled the tank with water quickly. "Damn good skill to have kid." Cid said as he piloted the Highwind back to the docks. "Every time he tries to use a spell, something in the house blows up." Shera said to the girl. "Shera. Yah don't need to tell her that." he said to his wife, and received a playful raspberry from her. "It's alright, Cloud…I mean Robert already showed me that." Aerith said as she continued her healing spell on Shera. "We just call him Cloud, it's his nickname." Barret said to her. "Yah he really doesn't mind very much." Tiffa added in. "Oh, I thought it was something that Yuffie called him, you know like a pet name," Aerith admitted. Barret and Tiffa gazed at each other, and laughed, "That has to be one crazy pet name. Besides Yuffie isn't one for those things." Barret said to Aerith. The girl blushed a little out of embarrassment, and stiffened when she felt a hand be placed on her shoulder. "You ok?" she heard James ask. "Yah, it's just that, I'm used to being punched right after that." she admitted, "But Cloud told me that y'all were nice people from what he could remember." "He's right, we'll all protect you from that kind of stuff from now on. Won't we?" James asked as he glanced around the room, everyone nodded in response. "Where are Cloud and Yuffie anyway?" Red XIII asked. "One of the rooms, having privet time." James answered. Cid let out a belting laugh, "HAH, those two will have a family before they know it."

A world of white, light covered everything. That light faded into a flowery field, and a group of friends, friends from another world. "It's about time they got back together, it was getting annoying watching them pine for each other like that." the real Yuffie said as she leaned back in the patch of soft grass. "Watching is all we can do." the real Cloud reminded her. Yuffie shifted a little, allowing him to take a seat next to her. Silence followed the two friends as they sat comfortably together. "What about that red Mako, do you think it's going to be a problem?" she asked. Cloud chuckled a little as he closed his eyes, "Not really, I think the Red Mako will backfire like it has been, making them stronger instead of killing them." he told her. Yuffie let her body fall the rest of the way into the grass, placing her arms behind her head. "So, are you still a Vincent kind of girl?" Cloud asked teasingly. "That depends on the present someone gives me." she answered smoothly. Cloud chuckled a little before rising from his sitting place and waking away. Yuffie smiled a little in her victory, and shifted a little back the way she had been previously, only to feel something touch her hip. She reached down to grab it. The object seemed to be small and round, and when she lifted it up, she found a green materia in her hand. Yuffie lifted her head to gaze at Cloud as he walked away from her. He never turned around, but she could almost feel the soft smile on his lips, and that made her shiver and blush.

**To be continued…**


	8. Ch 8 Then I Played, Now I Work

**Chapter 8 – Then I Played, Now I Work**

James stood outside on the front of the ship, watching as the ground moved beneath them, moving slowly as they moved towards the docks. He had been forbidden from jumping in mid flight for reasons of lying low. Aerith stood there, watching the machine fly through the air as it descended towards the docks. "Pretty cool huh?" James asked as he admired her. "It sure as high heaven is." she said in wonder. 'Maybe jumping off earlier was kind of a bad idea.' he thought to himself, 'But only because I wouldn't get to spend the rest of the time with her, I'd be down there waiting for them to land.' She suddenly shivered, and wrapped her arms around her waist. "You cold?" he asked. "Kinda, but the view is so purdy." she responded. James lifted himself off of the wall, and removed his long black coat. Placing it on her shoulders, he stood there next to her bare-chested. She blushed at the sight and turned away shyly, "What about you, aren't you cold?" she asked. "Nah," he said as he waved his hand in front of his face, "I'm used to this kind of weather from traveling around the world seeking adventure." "You mean thrills!" they heard as Yuffie walked up with her arms around Robert. "Were you always this clingy?" Robert asked. "Sorry," she apologized, and then buried her face in his side, "I just don't want to lose you again." Robert used the arm that was closest to her and wrapped it around her, "You won't." he whispered to her. "What are you two doing here, you're cramping my style." James said both indignantly and jokingly. "I'm enjoying the view with my wife, what are you doing?" Robert said with the shadow of a smile on his face. "Cid wouldn't let me sky dive without a parachute, said something about it being pointless because I could survive just about everything." James responded with a smirk. Robert chuckled a little and turned to watch the landing. On the horizon, they could see the sun and it dipped behind the mountains, casting a warm orange glow across the land. Moments later the view was blocked as the air ship hid itself behind the walls of steel that made up the docking house. The moment the ship touched water, it seemed to jar and somehow lifted out of the water to the hum of a machine. "Sounds like Cid activated the lift so he could get the ship out of the water. I think he wants to look over the damage." James said as the roof closed over top of them. "Alright you assholes, get off." Cid shouted over the loud speaker. "It also sounds like he's pissed." he added. Without a second thought, James picked Aerith up off of her feet, carrying her bridal style, and jumped off of the deck, landing smoothly on his feet. Gingerly he placed her down upon her feet, staying close to her. "Thanks." she said shyly. "No problem." James said with a broad smile. Almost immediately, the group heard the clicks of guns. Glancing around, James found him and Aerith surrounded by MH2 solders. "How the heck…" he asked but never got to answer, the squadron open fired on them almost immediately, forcing James to once again grab Aerith and jump high into the air. Quickly he caused his sword to appear in his hands, his coat still on the girl in his arms. Swinging with precision, he deflected every bullet and dart shot at him. "Where did they all come from?" he shouted as he moved back onto the deck of the ship. "Not sure!" Robert called back, using his massive sword to bat away the projectiles, and allowing Yuffie to throw her Shurikan at others. "Leave us alone!" the girl shouted to the solders. James looked down to see Aerith as she mumbled and pressed her hands together, similar to what she did when using her magic. A massive explosion echoed and erupted from behind the warring men, causing several of them to run in a panic or collapse to the floor in fright. "COWARDS! KEEP FIRING!" shouted the MH2 commander. "I got a wife and kids at home, I can't stay." one of them shouted, and ran from the scene. "I'm so not paid enough for this!" another shouted and followed the first. Aerith mumbled again, and the area in front of James shined with an aurora for a second and then vanished. He was about to slash at one of the bullets that approached him, but quickly found it surrounded in that same aurora, and fall to the floor harmlessly. "Sweet, a barrier!" he said and just stood there. "I like you more and more every time you do something!" he said to her, causing her to blush furiously.

She winced in pain as she felt something strike her back, near her shoulder one of the spots not covered by James' sleeveless trench coat. Reaching back, Aerith pulled out an empty dart. "What?" James whispered and turned to see his assailant. The man had short white hair, a baby like face and a long red leather trench coat, as well as red leather gloves and a rapier as long as the Masamune with a red blade. "Damn, missed!" the man said in a soft soothing voice. James placed her down on the ground, and turned to face the man, "Who are you and what are you doing here?" he shouted and placed his sword out in front of him. "That's not Sephiroth's stance." the man said in confusion. The stance James had adopted was a laidback stance, his right hand holding the Masamune and his left in his pocket, his knees slightly bent and his body turned to the side. "I never claimed to **be** Sephiroth…I just like this sword." he said with a smile on his face. The man in red put himself in a fencing stance, holding his sword out in front of him, tip pointed to James, "My apologies, I am Genesis, I will be your opponent this evening." the man said. "Fine by me!" James said, and flipped the Masamune above his head in a circle effortlessly, and brought it back to its position in front of him. The only sound they could hear was the sound of gun fire, neither really worried about it, and both smoothly shifting their bodies or heads to allow one of the bullets aimed at them to pass harmlessly by. Suddenly, as if decided on a whisper of wind, the two dashed towards each other and clashed swords. It was as if they were in synch with each other, the strikes causing sparks to fly everywhere, neither gaining nor losing any ground each seeming to give it their all. When it seemed as if they were the targets of the gun fight, they jumped into the air and continued their fight, each matching the other in both strength and speed, both smiling in excitement. "Dude! I think we could do this forever!" James said. "I agree, if only the two of us would last forever, I think the two of us would be just perfect fighting like this." Genesis responded. The two of them landed back on the ground, and dashed away from each other, "Give or take a few trips to the bar, and we could be best friends!" James said suddenly as he stood there, gazing at his adversary, "I agree, however that all depends." Genesis told him. "On what?" James asked, his smile never leaving his face. "Your favorite drink." Genesis told him and charged back in. "Virgin Pina Colada!" James told him simply, "I'm sort of allergic to Alcohol." "Pity," Genesis said, "Mine is a good old Strawberry Daiquiri." and swung in a circle, knowing that James would duck and he would miss. James in return brought his Masamune above his head and was blocked by Genesis' sword, causing the two swords to make a cross. "Don't get upset, I'd probably challenge you to a drinking contest once in a while if it wouldn't…you know…kill me." James said and the two jumped back from each other. Once again all they could hear was the sound of gunshots, rapidly firing in every direction. "So, why did you hit Aerith with the Red Mako?" James finally asked as he shifted his head to dodge a stray bullet. "That dart was actually meant for you, I just have a lousy shot. Just as well, I find that I have more fun with you the way you are. How you were able to customize your look is just astounding." "Wait, you can't customize your look?" James asked in surprise. "Unfortunately no, it seems that only you have acquired the necessary amount of Mako power to do that." Genesis admitted. "I guess my inexperience makes me weaker than I should be huh?" James said. Genesis didn't say a word, instead he lunged forward and locked blades with James again. With a smile on his face Genesis ducked to the side, causing James' Masamune blade to smash into the ground. James forced the blade to keep moving as it sliced through the ground and emerged from behind him as he flipped forward, keeping the momentum. The blade sliced through the ground like a hot knife through butter, and cut through the wind as it moved upwards quickly. The song it made as it whistled through the air made James' veins fill with adrenaline, causing his excitement to rise. It seemed as if time itself slowed for him, seconds felt like minutes as he watched his opponent take another swing at him in mid air. Flipping the Masamune around, he simply touched the blades together the moment he touched the ground with his feet, and braced himself. The force he met up with was incredible, yet his legs held steady as he pushed against the other blade. With one mighty swing, he unleashed a strength even he didn't know he had, pulling Genesis over him from behind and flinging him across the battle field. As Genesis landed on his back, a whoosh and what felt like a blast of wind sailed over top of him.

The red clothed man opened his eyes in surprise, and watched as the wall at his head cut itself open with the wind that slammed into it. Everyone stooped as the creaking began to get loud, and suddenly the ceiling came down. James dashed forward and grabbed Genesis by the free hand, tossing him towards the bay doors and into the water. "You aren't dyeing today my new friend." he said and turned to watch the others run, all except Aerith. Worry took hold of him, and he frantically looked around, only to find her half buried under rubble, the same rubble that came down after he had destroyed the wall with the wind. "Shit!" he said under his breath, and ran to her. With one quick swipe of his sword, the rubble flew off of her, leaving him to see her side and head bleeding badly. Without a word, he picked her up bridal style, and jumped, exiting the wreckage from the hole in the roof as the rest of the place came tumbling down around the damaged boat. When he finally landed, he turned to look at the others, finding the Mako Hunters gone. Cid was the first to approach him, "DAMNIT KID! That had to be the stupidest thing you've ever done." he shouted. James continued to look up at the fisherman, shock covering his face, "You never think of anyone else do you? Just look at that damage you did, one of us could have been killed in there!" The moment he said the word 'Killed' James looked down and into his arms, Aerith stayed there, unconscious and bleeding. "See, now look what you did?" Cid shouted, only to hear the boy sniff. Cid stopped his rant almost instantly at that sound, "You're right." James said, "It's my fault she's hurt." Cid placed his right hand to the back of his neck in shame, "Hey, I didn't…" he tried to say calmly, but James instead jumped high into the air with Aerith in his arms, moving away quickly. "What was that about?" Tiffa asked as she turned to Robert for the answer. The boy simply looked at her and shrugged. "Maybe he's going to find a nearby Mako Pool!" Yuffie said. Vincent nodded at that, and Red Thirteen walked up to Cid, "Are you ok?" the cub asked. "Didn't think he'd take it so personally." the red haired man responded.

'Damnit, I really screwed up.' James thought to himself as he soared through the air. Touching the edge of a building, he jumped again, keeping airborne as long as possible. 'No one ever gets hurt while I'm having fun, but this time someone I really care for nearly died. Maybe I was just lucky before, but no more.' he thought as he arrived at a full Mako Pool. "Ok, Red Mako, Check. Open wounds, Massive check. Pool full of green untainted Mako, Check. Time to fix my screw up." Touching down on the inside of the Pool walls, he lined himself up with the Mako level and with one massive leap, he shot straight across the pool itself, dropping her into it when he reached the center and continued to the other side. Stern and focused, James turned to watch as the Mako churned and spun in a whirlpool as she absorbed it, much faster than the others. "That is interesting!" he heard from behind him. Turning around, he saw his new friend, Genisis. "She happens to be the fastest out of all of you to absorb large amounts of Mako. Perhaps it has something to do with her use of Mako and ability to control her magic." he said and backed up into the shadows, right before James found himself engulfed in a shadow. Looking up, he saw a muscular man with long slicked back died black hair, wielding a cheap Buster sword. The hair he could tell was died, because it had a tinge of blue to it. "Why?" the man asked. James squinted his eyes to get a better look at him, finding his eyes to glow the same blue color as his brother's Mako eyes. With a tip of his feet, the man plummeted and lifted the large sword over his head. In a lightning fast move, James brought his left hand around to the front of his face and Mako Shifted the Masamune. Holding his sword in place, the two swords slammed into each other and James felt the ground beneath him give way slightly. "Why do you still walk?" he asked. James simply refused to answer, instead gripped the Masamune with his other hand and pushed as hard as he could, effectively pushing the man off of him. "Why are you able to keep going?" the man asked as he touched down. James launched himself at the man, Masamune gripped in both hands as he came down on him. The man easily lifted his massive sword over his head and blocked the strike before swinging his sword in an arch, throwing James towards the fence. Landing square on his back, James gritted his teeth as he felt and hid the pain, trying to remain what he thought was strong. With a kick of his feet, he stood up and turned to see the man as he swung a mighty blow towards him. Quickly James lifted his sword and blocked, only to find himself against the wall of the facility. Grunting in pain, he lifted his head to see the strange man lift his sword and walk towards him. "Who…who are you?" James grunted out. "My apologies, my name is Angeal, I will be your executioner." he said, finally introducing himself. James found himself unable to move, not because of the wall, but instead because of the strikes he had to endure beforehand. His body ached everywhere and he could only wait as Angeal lifted his massive sword above his head. Before he could bring it down, everyone heard what could only be described as an angry roar coming from the Mako Pool. Angeal turned around and James opened both eyes in surprise as the two of them saw a massive platinum scaled dragon lift his head from the edge of the pool and into view.

The dragon had a slim snout coming to a hooked point at the nose. Silver horns sprouted from its head, and curved in towards the middle. Its yellow eyes finally focused themselves on Angeal and the warrior found himself shaking in fear. Lifting itself further, they could see the yellow under-scales of the dragon, and the slim yet powerful figure of the beast as it climbed higher. Its wings were easily the same length as the beast, and the silver colored claws it had looked razor sharp. It stood tall on only two legs with a tail easily as long as the body and in its right hand, crouched a very confused pink clothed Aerith. "Impossible!" Angeal whispered to himself. The dragon bellowed out a laud screech and swiped at Angeal with his empty hand, barely touching James at all. Angeal, in a quick move, back flipped over the massive hand of the dragon and landed on his feet facing the creature. "Holy crap!" he squeaked out and watched as the dragon gently placed Aerith on the ground. At first, Aerith looked around trying to get her bearings straight, but soon looked Angeal in the eyes and lowered her eyebrows in anger, "Bahamut, sick-im." was all she said and pointed her finger at Angeal. With a quick gulp from Angeal and a growl from Bahamut, the two of them took off in the same direction, Bahamut flying above and throwing silver fireballs at the man as he dodged. Aerith walked up to James, smiling brightly, "What was that?" he asked, "Your new pet?" "Not really sure, he just told me his name and said that I was his new master." she said as she grabbed him by the belt and pulled him down. The moment his top half was free, she reached up and caught him, easing him with all the strength she had to the ground. Without a word her hands began to glow and he watched his injuries, no matter how light they were, vanish. He felt his energy return to him as she sat there waving her hands over him. "What is that spell?" he asked. Aerith smiled lightly, and looked straight at his bare chest. With a blush, she turned her head away, "It's called 'Full Restore'." she said to him. Once she was finished, she stood up from her seated position and ran to the middle of the pool. When she reappeared from the edge, she had his coat in her hands, "Sorry about your coat." she said as she presented it to him in near perfect condition. Reaching up, he grabbed it, and felt the mako that laced it's outside, "No problem." he said and grabbed it from her kindly. The moment he unfolded it, the hood fell off and he found a huge hole in the back. "Wow." he said, and closed his eyes, changing it back into the green mist of Mako. Seconds after, he rematerialized it around himself, all without smiling. "Are you alright?" she asked. James looked at her in a slight concern, "Uh, yah. I'm fine." he lied, "It's just…" "Is it because of me?" she asked suddenly. Without taking his eyes off the ground, she could still see the surprise in his eyes, "It is because of me, isn't it?" she asked. Quickly James lifted his head, "No, it isn't." he said, pleading in his voice. "Then what?" she asked. Those two words brought James into a despair, he had tried being focused, tried to take his fight seriously, but failed to do anything, "It's me." he said and dropped his face further to the floor. Aerith felt like rubbing her ears and asking again, she was so used to being blamed for every little thing that having someone else blame themselves was foreign. "It was my fault you were hurt and I couldn't do a thing to protect you, instead you protected me." he said sadly. "Yet it was you who brought her here to be healed, am I right?" they heard from their left.

James and Aerith lifted their heads to glance at the red clothed man, Genesis, his sword drawn and pointed at James' head. "Stand up my friend." he said and waited for James to climb to his feet. When James placed himself between Genesis and Aerith, Genesis chuckled, "Are you really so blind that you cannot see the real problem?" he asked and dashed at James. When the red Warrior got close, James unleashed his Masamune, blocking Genesis' sword. "How dull." he said, and pushed harder against James, easily sliding him past the startled Aerith. "Just because of one mistake you have to change into this. Stop running and face your problems." Genesis told him. With a quick swipe of his sword, James not only stopped his backwards slide, but also pushed Genesis away from him. "You're stronger than this." the red warrior said and dashed in for another strike, "I'm trying!" James said as he brought the Masamune up to meet Genesis' blade. "You don't need to change completely to fix what went wrong, just learn from that mistake and move on." With a powerful push the two once again separated, only to land and dash back at each other, "What does that mean?" James called out and lifted his sword above his head, bringing it crashing down where Genesis once stood. "It means that your old self was a better fighter because he was relaxed and focused. Someone got hurt, so what, just ask her to forgive you and move on. Stop beating yourself up before you really become like the old Sephiroth, cold and heartless." With surprise, James looked down to the handle of his sword, only now realizing he had been holding the Masamune with both hands, just like the man that constantly attacked his brother. "Don't you see? The thing that was keeping you from being Sephiroth all over again, was your happiness. You were excited, glad to do things that others were afraid to do, because you could do them to help others." Genesis told him and pulled the sword across his body before dashing in for a strike, "James wasn't afraid to make mistakes." he shouted as he sailed through the air only to be stopped by a vertical Masamune, held in one hand by James. Genesis could almost hear the thoughts running though his friend's head as James looked to the ground. "What do I do?" James quietly asked. Genesis smiled and said, "First, you need to forgive yourself." Silence dominated them both as James closed his eyes, asking himself to forgive his actions. The moment his eyes opened, Genesis could see the same familiar gleam of mischief the James once had, "Thanks Genesis!" he said and flipped his sword to knock Genesis off balance. But even with that, Genesis was able to block James' next strike as the man spun around in a circle. "That's more like it." he said as he allowed the force of the strike to throw him across the pool. As he stood up, Genesis pulled from his pocket a small pistol and fired it a James' feet. The dart struck just a few inches short of his feet, ricocheting off of the ground and harmlessly bouncing off of James' boot. Looking up, James caught Genesis giving him a friendly thumbs up and a wink, as if saying trust me, before jumping away from the two of them. "I think he missed on purpose." James said as Aerith walked up to him. "You got some crazy friends." she commented as the two of them looked out to the horizon, seeing Bahamut on his way back to them.

**To be continued…**


	9. Ch 9 Then I Cried, Now I Roar

**Chapter 9 – Then I Cried, Now I Roar**

Two days had passed by, and Tiffa was finally feeling relaxed. She was the only human in the house as of now, and Cait Sith was curled up near the fireplace in the sitting aria. "It's good to finally be home." she said as she sat by herself. From the backyard, she heard a scratch and a yip, Red XIII wanted back in. "Alright, alright, I'm coming." she called out as she lifted herself from the chair. The moment she opened the back door, the active little pup zipped on through the door with a loud, "Thank you!" Tiffa could almost hear the pots and pans that would have sounded from a cartoon when he turned the corner. What she did hear was the sound of a cat meowing at the end. "Red XIII, I was trying to take a nap!" Cait Sith called out. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" the little fox shouted as he was chased back into her view by the cat. Tiffa placed her hand to her mouth and chuckled a little, "Don't kill him Cait Sith, he's just a cub." she called out, and Cait Sith calmly walked into the room seconds later with a scowl on his face, "Well that cub needs to calm down somehow." he said and lifted himself onto his back paws. Mako seemed to just pour out of him as it circled him in a mist, changing his body into an upright figure, causing a red cape to appear around his neck and a crown to appear on his head. White cloves covered his paws as the toes stretched into fingers and a pair of brown boots seemed to just move out of the fur on his hind legs. His eyes closed themselves into an upwards arch, and he seemed to grow just slightly to be about as high as her knees. "That kid is driving me up a wall." he told her. "Well what am I supposed to do about that?" she asked, crossing her arms in a huff. "Take him on a walk or something, I don't care just get him out of my fur." Cait Sith said angrily, and turned to stomp out of the door. Tiffa puffed out her cheeks, and lowered her voice to an angry whisper, "Well you're no help." she said and turned to find Red XIII peeking his head around the corner with his ears pinned against his head. She thought he looked so cute, so she sighed and picked up the fox cub, "I guess it's time for a walk." she said. "Do I really have to wear that itchy collar?" he asked.

Most fox's were color blind, thanks to the Mako, Red XIII was not. He hated the collar that Tiffa had picked out for him, he knew the bright blue collar clashed terribly with his red fur, and he was pretty sure some of the local dogs and cats laughed at him for it. "I know you hate the collar Red XIII, but like I said before, it was the last one they had in your size." Tiffa told him, nearly reading his thoughts. "Then go back and get a new one!" he said, "A red or black one." "Not a chance, not until this one wears out or gets too small for you." Tiffa responded. "Why are you so stingy?" he asked. "Cause I can't just hop on down to the store and get you everything you want. Remember when you scared the clerk by asking if you could by everything?" Tiffa asked. "She got used to me." Red XIII argued. "Yah, after a week of freaking out." Tiffa countered, "I had to bring you to her every day until she calmed down." "Now she likes me though, it all worked out." Red XIII said in his defense. Tiffa sighed loudly, and knelt down to unhook his leash from his collar. "Leave it on." she ordered, and left to go sit down on a nearby bench. Red XIII finally realized where he was, a nearby park where everyone knew about his vocal abilities. He perked up considerably and dashed into the playground, where his friends, little children, were playing. Almost an hour passed by as he played with the children, their parents comfortable with him around as they too have gotten to know of him, almost all of them. One in particular seemed stand-off-ish, and none of her friends recognized him. He wore black shades and a black button up suit. His black hair slicked back into a tail with only a single lock of bangs hanging out in front. He just simply stood there, watching. "Red, Time to go!" Tiffa called out, and stood up from the bench. The little fox bounced out of the play fort in the middle of the grounds, and ran up to her, turning his head to shout, "See you guys later!" to the children that waved goodbye to him. Just as he reached Tiffa, a loud howl could be heard, the sound was not like any animal any of them had heard before. So when a pack of three black dog-like creature with metallic spines poking out from their backs and tails, everyone panicked, except the new guy. The dogs sniffed around a little, before turning right to Tiffa and Red XIII. "Oh snap!" he said and let the Mako swirl around him, causing him to grow and change into his larger self with the scared eye. Suddenly the man they didn't recognize reached behind himself, and pulled out a gun, firing a Red Mako dart into Red XIII shoulder. The now large pup, winced a bit and used his teeth to remove the dart completely. "Target has been hit, let the dogs have him." the mysterious man sad into his wrist, and turned to walk away. Tiffa instantly Mako Shifted, and lifted her fists into up to her chin as the creatures began to charge at them. "Run!" she screamed as she drop kicked one in the head, and jabbed another. Red XIII instead stayed put and bit the third in the neck before throwing it away. "I said RUN." she yelled again, "Find a Mako Pool, and absorb it, just get going!" "Bu…" he tried to argue, but was quickly interrupted, "I'll watch your back, just get moving and don't die on me, ok?" Tiffa nearly growled. Red hesitated as the two she knocked down began to get back up, but eventually nodded and turned to run. The man then began to run after him, only to catch Tiffa's powerful punch to his jaw, "Not my puppy you're not!" she said and threw another punch. The man continued to dodge each one of them, with no time to actually counter attack.

Red ran throughout the streets, weaving in and out of alley ways and leaping over back walls, trying to find what he was looking for, and evading the three dogs that just kept chasing him. He didn't realize however that he was shrinking, his size just melting away as he ran. He came face to face with a large fence, one he decided to try to jump over. He was shocked when he only made it half way and slammed right into the metallic links, before hitting his side against the ground. He stood up without a complaint, and shook off his pain, 'What the…' he thought to himself and glanced at the fence angrily. He wanted to say, "Stupid fence." but it came out as little high pitched barks and a little growl. He stopped in surprise as he realized the extent of Red Mako. He could no longer talk. 'I've got to get to a Mako Pool and fast.' he told himself, happy that at least his mind was still there. "Aw, don't you look just precious?" he heard from above him. When the pup looked up, he found the red clothed Genesis crouched like a ninja on the fence. Genesis then jumped down, grabbed Red XIII under the belly, and leapt over the fence. "We should get you to a Mako Pool quickly, wouldn't want someone as cute as you just dying on me." Red looked up cautiously to Genesis, "And this collar defiantly brings out your eyes." the man said, and Red narrowed his eyes. Suddenly they both heard growls from in front of them, Genesis looked up with a smile, "I thought I smelt something bad." he said and jumped into the air, making his way towards a large curved wall and fence. Genesis set the pup down gently, and extended his sword out in front of him, "Tzang! Good to see you.!" he said as he turned the tip to a dark shadowy alley, "What's MH3's interest in this pup?" Red XIII remembered the man that emerged as the strange man that shot him with the dart, as well as the man that fought against Tiffa trying to capture him. "You know that's classified Genesis." Tzang responded and pulled put a jet black hand gun that he pointed at the red clad man. Red XIII backed away slowly, ducking behind the man and sneaking under the gate of the Mako Pool's fence. Believing he was home free, he darted for the pool of green liquid, only to be tackled and bitten by one of the large dogs that had been chasing him before. Shaking him wildly, the dog then let go and tossed him away from the liquid. Red XIII landed hard against the concrete, stunned only momentarily, he lifted himself from the ground and was attacked again. Grabbed by the tail and swung in wide circles, the pup was thrown against the fence, and landed again on the ground. 'Ugh, gotta…get to the Mako.' he thought to himself, and was rammed in the side by a third dog. By now, Red XIII was bleeding, not only on his back but also from his lips and side. One of his paws hurt as if it were broken, and he could barely open one of his eyes. 'They're purposefully keeping me away.' he thought, and alerted himself to one of the dogs getting ready to lunge at him. He tried to duck to the left, and was quickly stopped when his collar got snagged on one of the curved spikes. The sharp edge sliced through it easily, but it still slowed him down, and he was easily tackled by another one of the dog creatures. He tumbled to the side, skidding across the ground and leaving a small trail of his own blood as he came to a halt.

He could feel his heart as it beat within his chest, the speed and power of each thump was so much more than he remembered ever feeling before. Again he stood up, and jumped backward just in time to dodge another tackle from one of the monsters, his cheek sliced open when it came into contact with the blade. As soon as the dog was past him, he darted forward again, not caring that the animal slid at all, and booked it as fast as he could towards the Mako Pool. His ears twitched at the sound of a growl, and he stopped dead in his tracks and curled into a ball as the second one sailed over him. He quickly rolled to the side as the jaws of the third came down, trying to grab him by the back again, and he spun around, slamming his long nails into the eye of his attacker. The dog then howled in pain as Red then turned and ran the rest of the way toward the Pool. He thought he could make it; he was almost there when again one of the creatures slammed their head into his side. Again, inches away, he slid to a stop, blood trailing him the whole way. Red XIII then turned his one open eyes to the sky, looking up at the moon and the stars, 'It's been a long time.' he thought to himself, 'Mom, Dad? Are you proud of me?' and allowed his eye to close completely.

The three dogs stalked up to him, sniffing and poking him with their noses. When he didn't move the one sniffed him again, and nodded to the others. They turned around, walking away from the scene and made their way to where Genesis and Tzang were still fighting. Tzang turned his head as he fired his gun, each of his bullets easily deflected by Genesis' sword. "I win." he said with a smile, "Looks like the Red Mako is ready for production after all." As soon as the bullets stopped coming, Genesis lowered his sword, and smiled at the man, "You government stooges only know how to see with your eyes." he said, "But if you want proof, just watch." and turned to the fallen pup.

'Mom?' Red XIII asked inside his own head. Suddenly he could feel the warmth of light surround him and a man's smooth suave voice speak out to him, "I've always been proud of you my pup, but are you proud of yourself?" the familiar voice asked. 'Dad?' he asked. When the voice remained silent, he continued, 'I…no, not like this.' he said, 'I want to see my friends, Cloud, Barret, and Tiffa…' suddenly a vision of Tiffa ran through his head, how she picked him up and threw him in the air just so she could catch him, the times she played hide and seek with him, and all the times she let him snooze on her lap when she could have easily let Cait Sith do so. 'Tiffa will be sad.' he said and a single tear fell from his eye. "Don't let her be sad, go to her, and live some more." the voice said and Red slowly opened his eye. Struggling, he lifted himself to his three good feet. Tzang watched in awe as the little pup fought off death a second and much more desperate time. The tree dogs stopped and turned around slowly, seeing the small fox puppy standing on three legs as he slowly made his way to his only salvation. "Way to go kid." Genesis said, his pride swelling up. "Damnit!" the Tzang said and lifted his gun

Red XIII stopped at the edge of the Mako Pool, and looked down, 'Here goes.' the pup told himself, and just tipped into the green liquid, just as a single shot ricocheted off of the concrete right where he stood. With week kicks, he swam to the middle of the pool, feeling the liquid seep into his wounds as he went. The level of the Mako sank quickly as he swam, somehow staying behind him the whole time. Red found his strength return to him, his one damaged leg quickly fix itself so that he could use it to swim, his eye now healed so that he could open it, and his sides stopped hurting. He picked up speed, paddling to the center of the pool, the Mako speeding up as the Mako absorbed into him. He found his paws touch the floor of the pool as he neared the center, so he walked the rest of the way. The Mako stopped its decent about at about the top of his paws. The howl of the three dogs tore him away from his revere, and he turned to see them as they jumped over the edge of the dry Mako Pool, and he quickly scowled. The Mako that surrounded him changed him, turning himself back into the large cat with a flaming tail, "I'm back, and I'm better than ever." he said, and howled to the sky himself. The three dogs stopped in fear as the area around them went black, and a red ball of fire seemed to gather in front of the howling creature, right before he lowered his head and opened his mouth. The ball of flames burst into a beam of energy as the three of them were caught on the blast. The attack also dug its way through the concrete of the pool, traveling almost half a mile before it dissipated. Tzang lowered his gun in a frightened awe, and Genesis turned from the scene, "You see Tzang, you may have laid a trap, making a deal with the Mako Pool guards and using your dogs, but that pup's spirit just proved how much stronger courage is that your cowardice." he said, "You lost." With those last words, he jumped into the air, disappearing again over the tops of the buildings. "RED!" Tzang heard the sound of Tiffa's voice call out, "RED XIII, WERE ARE YOU?!" he slipped into the shadows just as the fox pup jumped out of the Mako Pool fence with his ripped collar in his mouth. He stopped and turned his head to the man and growled, "RED XIII, PLEASE ANSWER ME!" Tiffa called out. Red turned his head to look to where her voice came from, and glanced back at the man in the shadows. The look he gave Tzang told him that he was lucky Tiffa was still calling for him, and the cub turned around to run off.

Tiffa had been wandering around the thickest part of town for a while. Worried and anxious, she put her hands to her mouth to call out again, "RED, PLEASE!" Tiffa called out with tears in her eyes, "Don't be hurt." she finished as she lowered her voice. "I'm not." she heard from next to her, and she jumped t the familiar voice. There at her feet with his ripped collar, sat Red XIII, his tail curled around him as much as the bushy thing could, and his ears down on top of his head. "RED!" she finally said happily, and reached down to pick him up and hug him. "You're ok, you're ok!" she cried. "I'm sorry." he said and did his best to hug her back, "I didn't mean to make you worry." "It's ok," she said, her tears streaming down her cheeks, "I'm just glad you're alive." Red turned and jumped out of her arms, back down to the ground, and picked up his collar, placing it at her feet, "I tore my collar." he said in shame. "Well, I'll just have to get you a new one." she said, and picked him up again. She started walking in the direction of the park so that she could get her bearings again, "Can you get me one just like my old one?" he asked. Tiffa looked to him, as he placed his head against her shoulder, and promptly fell asleep. She didn't know what had changed his mind; she would have asked too if he hadn't fallen asleep.

In the white world, the real Red XIII, the one named Nanaki, stood looking down at his at the pup with a smile on his face, "So what made you decide to intervene?" he heard Cloud's voice ask. The blond man with spiky hair walked up to him, stopping when he was next to the large beast, "He reminds me of my own children." Nanaki said as he smiled. The large cat turned his head away from the warrior, spying a pair of little creatures just like him, playing with the girl in pink, "I just had to let him know, his parents were always proud of him." he said. Cloud chuckled a little, "Yah," he said, "I guess these replacements, are kinda like our children. We just can't help but be proud of them." With that, Cloud stood back up and walked away, moving towards the woman in pink. Nanaki smiled gently, as he watched the two of them talk, the warrior was right, Nanaki did feel like the new Red XIII's father in a way, and he couldn't help but feel a father's pride in the little fox cub.


	10. Ch 10 Then I Was Angry, Now I'm Happy

**Chapter 10 – Then I Was Angry, Now I'm Happy**

Cid grumbled to himself as he worked, using a heavy machine to pull metal off of the ship and put it back into place on the shed, "Damn Mako Hunters!" he said to himself, "No respect for any one's damn life!" "I think most of them are just doing their job Cid." he heard Shera say as she entered into the shed. "Tch!" he scoffed, and jumped out of the tractor now that it was holding the steel slab in place. Shera continued to advance, and watched as he climbed into a lift and rose to meet the lose slab before placing a welders mask over his face. "You know Cid, if I drove the forklift and you just manned the platform, we could have this done twice as fast." Shera said and folded her arms at him. Cid turned to her, lifted his mask and said, "Well hell, jump on in, just don't move it till I tell you I'm done!" and lowered the mask back down before turning to the slab and lifting his welder. Shera smiled a little, always happy when her husband allowed her to help, and she hopped into the machine. They continued on like this for a while, placing panels and welding them back on until finally the last of the metal sheets had been secured. "There!" Cid said, "Good as new!" "And looks even better than before!" Shera said, just as Cid pulled out a cigarette from his goggle band. Placing it in his mouth he reached to his pocket, just as Shera snatched his smoke from his mouth, "Damnit Shera!" he said as he flinched from the sudden movement. "I don't want you smoking anymore Cid." she said, "I want you to live as long as I do, cause I care too much." Cid was just about to argue with her, but stopped as she said those last words, causing him to think about them, "Alright," he finally said, "I'll try, for you." Cid lowered the lift he was on all the way to the ground, and stepped out, "Shera!" he finally said, "I don't want you on the Highwind anymore." Shera turned to him with shock on her face, "Cid, what am I supposed to do here?" she asked. "Hell I don't know, start that flower stand you were talking about!" he suggested. "It wasn't a flower shop Cid it was wedding planner business." she corrected, "And if you remember right, I was going to use the Highwind as our mobile store and wedding location, the balcony is big and really romantic." Cid simply placed his hand to his chin, "Oh!" he said to himself and shook his head, "Listen Shera, this aint turnin out like we planned, hell with me Mako Infused I doubt we'll have any customers anyway."

"So are you saying I can't advertise well?" she asked. "Damnit Shera, that's not what I meant!" he told her, his anger rising to try and over power any concerns he had. "Then what is it Cid?" she asked folding her arms at him. "Look woman, I don't need you getting in the way when there's someone shooting at us alright?" he said. "Have I really been in the way Cid?" she asked. Cid brought his hands up to his cheeks, curling his fingers as if they had claws, before throwing them down to his sides and storming out the hanger. "Where are you going?" she asked. "To cool down!" he shouted in a huff, "And if you follow me I'll just get angrier!"

Outside, Cid sat on a bench that Shera had placed for him, a lit cigarette hanging out of his mouth as the smoke lifted up to the sky. He lifted his face to the stars, watching as the smoke from the stick in his mouth lifted to the sky. He then reached to his mouth, removed the cigarette, and looked at it, before throwing it to the ground and stepping on it, putting it out in the dirt under his boot. Just as slowly, he reached up and pulled the box of cigarettes out of his goggles and tossed them at a nearby trash can, causing the box to bounce off of the side and hit the ground. He grumbled a little before he lifted himself up and made his way to go throw them away. He was able to kneel down and pick them up when he felt something sting him in the neck. Without a second thought, he reached up and pulled out a familiar dart, one he had seen several times before, "Aw hell!" he said, and stood up, before he turned and came face to face with a large bald man in a black suit and sunglasses. Quickly and without warning the man punched him, and Cid's world went black.

"Hurry up, move him out of here!" Shera heard as she pinned herself against the door. She had kept it open just a little, a crack so that she could listen to her husband, she trusted him yes, but she wanted to know just what he was thinking at the time. She watched as they stuffed the unconscious man into a van, and drove off, before placing a hand to her chin and came up with a plan.

Cid's head pounded as he opened his eyes, the light above him blinded him as he tried to turn away from it, and bring his hand to block it out, kind of like what he did in the morning, only this time, something stopped his arm from moving. He opened his eyes the best he could, and lifted his head, finding his top half restrained with a leather strap, same with his arms and legs. "What the hell?" he asked as he looked around, "Where the f #%$ am I?" he asked himself. Cid turned his head, glancing at his surroundings. The walls were made of steel slabs bolted together, and the bed was the same, a steel slab with very thin cushions. The only fixtures in the room seemed to be the light over head, and the bed he was strapped to. "Oh, f %#$!" he said, "Mako Hunters!" Cid turned his head so that he could see the wall behind him, there was a door, a simple steel door with a handle, "Hey, you bastards!" he shouted, "What's your problem with those different than you, eh? Am I really that scary that you have to poison me and strap me down?" Suddenly a pound came from the other side, "Shut up in there you old goat!" shouted a guard. "OLD!" Cid shouted back, "I'm only 31, you asshole, I dare you to come in here and say that to my face! Damn delinquent!" Instead of riling the man up, he heard another pound on the door, "Just shut up and die already. The faster you kick the bucket the quicker I can get off of guard duty and schmooze the new lady!"

"You talking about me?" Cid heard a muffled voice say, however he recognized it quickly. "Shera?" he asked himself, keeping his voice low so that the guard wouldn't hear him. "Wha…Oh, hi there!" the guard said as he stammered. "Do I look like I want to be schmoozed by you?" Shera asked. "Well, you know, it never hurts to try…right?" the guard tried to explain, and suddenly Cid heard a much louder slam against the door, at a much higher point. "I don't know, you tell me!" Shera said as she opened the door. The guard dressed in the Mako Hunter's gear slid down to the ground as he flopped down, unconscious. Cid smiled as he looked to her, "Damn, bet he didn't see that one coming!" he said as she approached him. She worked quickly, unstrapping him from the slab of steel, and helped him to his feet. "Now do you want me off of the Highwind?" she asked. "Not right now Shera!" he said to her as he hobbled next to her with his arm over her shoulder, "If we don't git moving then there won't be a Highwind!"

The two of them stumbled out of the door, stepping over the unconscious guard and turning the corner just as a scientist rounded it, coming face to face with the two of them. At first the light skinned man with thick rimmed glasses just stared at them, and then lifted his hand to point to Cid, and then Shera. Cid then spoke up, "Yes, it is what it looks like you dumb smart guy!" Shera turned to him with a scowl, and the scientist just turned around, his finger still in the air. "Do you really have to make this more difficult than it has to be?" she asked as she turned to her husband. Cid was just about to say something, but stopped when the entire room went dark and lit up with a flashing red light, "Well hell that was fast!" he said as the two of them began to walk away as quickly as they could. A few minutes went by as the two of them hurried the best they could, "How the hell did you get in here?" Cid finally asked as he heard the sound of boots running behind them. Shera quickly placed her hand on the knob of a nearby door, and dragged him into the room. She then stuffed him into a locker cabinet, and hid behind the door. One of the solders peered into the room, searching for them, "Clear!" he shouted when he didn't see them, and shut the door himself. Shera let out the breath that she had been holding, and walked over to the cabinet, opening it and helping Cid down to the ground. "Well?" he asked as she traveled to the back of the room. "I hacked their computer and inserted a file on myself, then printed an ID and walked through the front door." she explained, and lifted the window in the back. "Where the hell are we anyway?" he asked as he climbed through the window. The view he found answered his question, even in the dark of night he could recognize it from the story Cloud had told him of the rescue Yuffie made, the old base surrounded by Mako, the MH7 secret lab. "Oh, shit!" he said as he looked down, "This is why I **drive** the Highwind, so I don't have to look down!" Shakily he stood up, pushing his back against the outside wall and followed Shera the best he could. "Don't fall from here Cid." she said, "You'll just hit the ground until the other side, that's where all of the Mako is." Suddenly a flash of a ricochet appeared in front of Cid, "Whoa shit!" he said and turned his head, spying several guards turning to look at them, and pointing their guns at them. "Damnit!" he shouted and jumped up, grabbing the edge of a window sill above him and curling into a ball, the bullets hit the wall below hi, and Cid made a move, using what strength he had left to leap from sill to sill, passing by Shera and dropping down near the edge. He only landed halfway on the edge, nearly toppling backward as he waved his arms in an attempt to regain his balance. "CID!" Shera called out and reached out, grabbing his arm as well as the edge of a brick, and pulling him to safety. Before they could rest, more gunshots could be heard and the two made their way around the corner. "Hell, I'm glad you were here!" he said. "I'm glad I could help!" Shera responded as they shimmied their way towards the far side of the base.

Shera looked up finding a nearby window, "There!" she said. "Hell Shera," Cid responded as she climbed up and helped him in "I can't move like I used to. The damn red Mako is really kicken in!" Shera finished pulling him in, and looked around, "We need to get to the roof." she told him, "Well hell, why not climb up from the outside, we'll both get shot up!" he said sarcastically. "Seriously Cid?" she asked as she crept towards the door, "Now's not the time." Cid shook his head as he stood up, "Let me!" he said, "I need to get shot anyway, just to get cured!" Cid then opened the door and peered out, finding a familiar blinking hallway, "Why the hell does everything have to look the same?" he asked, and caught something out of the corner of his eye. There, attached to the wall, was a later, leading to a door in the ceiling. "Yes!" he whispered, and exited the door, closing it behind him, "CID!" she shouted as she tried to open it up. Outside, cid was pushing a chair into the door knob, keeping it from opening. "Sorry Shera!" he said and turned towards the ladder.

Slowly he opened it up, peeking out to the open roof. He spotted several guards, peering over the edge, guns pointed down as they searched for him and his wife. With them all distracted, he slowly opened up the hatch, climbed out, and gently placed the door back down. He tried sneaking past them, but within a few steps one of them looked up, "There he is!" the man said, and pointed his gun at Cid, "Damnit!" Cid shouted as he began to run. The others quickly turned and began shooting, the rain of bullets racing past the Mako Infused sailor as he zigzagged across the roof in his torn jeans, white tank top and worn boots. "CANNON BALL!" Cid shouted as he got to the edge of the building, and jumped, curling himself into a ball, several bullets hitting him in the back and one grazing his shoulder as he stayed suspended in the air for a few seconds. He finally dropped, and the guards raced to the side, trying to keep the rain of bullets on him, but could only watch as he hit the Mako, "Damn," one of them grunted in frustration, "We'd better get out of here, unless you want to fight an upgraded Mako Monster."

"He didn't look like a monster to me!" another solder said, "The guy in the red cloak looked like more of a monster than this guy!"

"Oh yah, the only survivor of the Vincent upgrade." a second solder said as he approached the man. "Vincent?" the man asked, "Wait you mean the same Vincent that was thrown into a Mako Pool by a rampaging Mako Monster?"

"Yup. Vincent Valron, the greatest Marksman the Mako Hunters ever had." the other man said, and then looked down, the Mako in the pool began swirling around, like a drain and funneled into Cid as he floated there, "Shouldn't we shoot him?" one of them asked as the one survivor slowly backed away. "Why waist bullets, he'll try to come back for his wife, then we'll get him!" another said, and the survivor snuck down the hatch that Cid had used to get up there.

Shera crouched on the floor, holding her knees to her face. She had tried going after her husband through the window, but the moment she showed her face, she found a spot light searching for them, and almost an army of solders with automatic weapons ready to turn her into Swiss cheese. Suddenly she heard the chair move from the door, and it opened up. There stood the survivor, his mask removed and his gun down at his side. Genesis stood there, in full disguise, "It's…you!" she said. Genesis smiled, and nodded his head to tell her to follow him, and that she did. Genesis quickly shifted, turning the black armor into his red leather trench coat before shifting his long sword in his free hand. With a smile, he handed the gun to her, and the two of them made their way to the front door.

"It's pretty empty now." one of the guards said as Cid continued to absorb the Mako. "Should we really be here?" one of them asked. "Hey, the commander can be worse than those freaks." another said, and they all heard a splash as Cid flew past them and landed behind them. "Who the hell are you callin a freak?" Cid asked as he flipped a new spear above his head. The spear itself was tipped with a long spear blade, the edge bowing in at the middle and them coming to a pointed edge near the bottom. Below that looked to be two crude bat wing ax heads, all of which were made of gold and mounted on what looked to be a blue lance head. Under the lance, the handle started out sapphire blue and faded into a light aqua marine before fading into ruby red, and had a large notch in the middle, separating the hands. "Look you assholes, the more you try and kill us, the stronger we get. We aint the monster caus we aint the ones trying to kill someone who's just tryin to protect the ones we love." he said, and turned around. He heard the loud clicks of the guns they all pointed at him, and he smiled, "You seriously don't want to start something you can't finish!" he said, and listened as one of them began squeezing the trigger. He turned and spun his spear just as the first bullet left the barrel, the spear looked like a giant disk with the speed he spun it, and each bullet simply bounced off until the man emptied his clip. Cid smile as he stopped spinning his spear, and let it fall to his side. He reached up to his goggles, only noticing now that he had no cigarettes in the strap, "Oh yah!" he said to himself, "I promised Shera that I'd quit smoking!" and with one powerful push of his legs, jumped down from the roof, landing on the ground out front. "Before he could turn around to storm the place and retrieve his wife he heard her voice, "CID!" she called out, and wrapped her arms around him the second he turned around. "What the…" he was about to ask, but was interrupted by Genesis, "Go on, I'll stall them and allow you two to escape, tell James I'm looking forward to our next meeting!" he said and turned around pointing his sword in his natural pose, as if he were fencing with it. "Thanks kid!" Cid said, and the two of them ran, jumping into, sticking close to the forest for cover. "What is that Cid?" Shera asked as the two of them ran. Cid turned to her for a second and found her looking at his new weapon. He quickly thought about it, "Aw hell Shera," he said, "It's the Venus Gospel!"

In the promised land, the real Cid, stood there, looking down at them, before pulling the cigarette out of his mouth and dropping it to the floor to step on it. "Is he starting to get to you?" his Shera asked as she came up behind him. "Nah!" he said, and slipped another one out of the box on his band. Quickly he put it in his mouth and lit it by producing a lighter from his pocket. Shera simply chuckled at him, and turned around, "Just don't teach the children to smoke, alright?" she asked and began walking away. Cid quickly smiled and turned to run up to her, placing his arm around her waist as the two walked together. 'Nice job kid, you did better than I ever did, don't you ever let her go.' Cid thought to himself.

Back at the house, Cid Cast was once again sitting on the bench, this time a large toothpick in his mouth in place of the cigarette. "Cid?" he heard Shera ask as she walked up to him, "Why did you want me to stop going with you?" she asked. Cid turned to the sky, his usual pride finally crashing around him, "I didn't want you in danger." he said smoothly, "If something were to happen to you, I'd never forgive myself." Shera smiled at his explanation, and leaned her head against his chest, "But I just realized something," she heard him continued, "I'd never forgive myself for making you cry either, so I guess, having you on the new airship is the safest place for you after all."

**To be continued…**


	11. Ch 11 Then I Slept, Now I Growl

**Chapter 11 – Then I Slept, Now I Growl**

"So Genesis is hiding as one of the Mako Hunters?" James asked as Shera and Cid told their story together. "That's what I got out of it." she said. "It could just be a second job." James said, "You know, to help pay for his family!"

"I hope it is," Robert said as he pulled himself up from the chair he sat in, "Then that means we have someone on the inside of both of our enemies." James placed a hand on his brother's shoulder, "Don't count him as one of us yet bro, he may not be trying to kill us, but he still works for the Z-agents." he said, and then clenched his other hand into a fist, "Man, I cannot wait to fight him again. It's going to be epic." Down on the floor, Cait Sith tried burying his head into his chest, hoping not to listen to the others as he attempted to sleep. "Can I see your upgrade again?" he heard Red XIII ask. The cat lifted his head just in time to watch Cid transform. Cid now had a light blue t-shirt on, with a brown flight jacket tied around his waist and green cargo pants tucked into high brown buckled up boots. Long brown gloves covered his hands and forearms and he had a small thin chain hanging off of his neck and the same goggles on the top of his head. "Kinda simple," Cid said, "but I like it. Much easier to move in then my other look." Cait Sith turned his head down, looking at the carpet for a few seconds before lifting himself up and silently waking towards the window. "What's wrong?" he heard Aerith ask as he neared the opening. "Oh, it's nothing, A'm just a wee bit scunnered is all." he tried to say. Aerith simply gave him a confused look, obviously not used to hearing a Scottish saying, "Bored, ye know? Fed-up?" he responded. The look of realization on her face was a sight to see, she opened her mouth, silently voicing her new knowledge and pointed to the ceiling. "Don't go looking to get shot with Red Mako, Cait Sith." she suddenly said, "It aint worth it."

"Aye, A'll keep that in mind." he said kindly and jumped up to an open window, escaping the chatter inside. Yet even outside, he still felt as if he had been left behind, "A'm sure it's nae all bad." he told himself, "Then again, Aerith nearly died from it." Reminders, examples, reasons and excuses all ran through his mind as he continued his walk. He stayed in his untransformed state so it was easier to go un-noticed by any enemies, "WOOF, WOOF!" except dogs. Cait Sith looked up just in time to see a Rottweiler running right at him, his leash flying behind him like some kind of cape or string. "MEROW!" Cait Sith screeched and turned to run, he quickly found a large tree, and up he went, tucking himself into the branches of the great tree, and looked down at the jumping canine. "HISSSS!" he threatened, and watched as the dog's owner, a balding man in his early forties with a light blue t-shirt and tan shorts walked up and grabbed the leash on the ground, "Come on!" the man said and pulled on the leash, "Come on now, leave the cat alone!" The dog continued to bark, tugging at the rope attached to his neck until they both disappeared into a building across the street from where Cait Sith had found the dog to begin with, "Uh, A hate dogs!" he said.

With a wisp of green power, he shifted into an upright stance, boots and gloves appearing out of nowhere with a red cape following close behind. The fur on his face changed from straight black, to a triangle of white fur that started from his cheeks and stretched to his forehead. "Climbing **down** trees is so much easier wih hands!" he said, and soon touched down on the ground. Quickly he changed back, turning into an ordinary cat again. He looked around, looking to see if someone had seen him change, finding no one staring at him, he continued, 'A dennae kin (don't know) why Red likes te announce that he is what he is?' he thought, and that turned his thoughts to Red XIII's upgrade, turning his thought's back to Cid's new upgrade. "Focus Cait Sith!" he told himself, "Ye're one of the fabled Cat Sith of Scotland! Ye're not supposed to care about that stuff. Ye bring luck, and cause town wide panic when ye show up at funerals…" suddenly he dropped his ears, "But that was years ago, before ye were brought here, before ye became this." Cait Sith hopped up on a window sill, turning to the reflection of a jet black cat with a single white patch of fur in the dead center of his upper chest, yes he was smaller than most of his breed but he liked to think that it gave him advantages. With a sigh, he turned his head, just in time to hear the ricochet of something bounce off of the glass where his head was just at.

Turning his head again, he looked down, finding a red Mako dart sitting on the ground behind him, shattered at the very end. "Uh, oh!" he said and turned back, jumping off of the sill and bolting from the spot he once stood. Again he heard the ricochet of two more darts behind him. Ducking behind a trash can, he turned and silently caught his breath, "Elena, you are a lousy shot!" he heard a female say. "Oh stuff it Cissnei!" the other girl huffed. "I told you to be patient!" Cait Sith heard a man say. The man's voice was laid back, almost carefree, "I was patient Reno." Elena said in a huff, "That cat just moved at the wrong time." Cait Sith could hear Reno laugh quietly to himself, "So what do cats do when they're scared?" he asked. "Uh…run away?" Cissnei asked as she tried to guess the answer. "No." Reno said and Cait Sith looked up, just in time to see the barrel of a gun pointed at him from a man with wild spiky red hair, "They hide on the most obvious place." Reno said, and pulled the trigger, sticking Cait Sith in the side with a Red Mako dart just as the cat turned to run away, "A place you'd never think to look for them." Reno continued as he watched the cat run. "How did you know he was there?" Cissnei asked. "Easy, I watched him run while you two bickered." was his answer and the two girls, one with wavy red hair and the other with short straight blond hair, face palmed themselves.

"Och!" Cait Sith complained as he walked. He turned when he thought he was alone, and grabbed the dart, pulling it out quickly with his teeth and tossing it aside. "Och that smarts. Glaekit (stupid). Eejit (Idiot). How could ye let the chancer (trickster) get the drop on ye?" he asked himself, scolding at each word. He looked around, quickly eyeing his surroundings, "Nae a Mako Pool around, and ye're quite a ways from home." he told himself, "Whit dae A do nou?" He looked up to the street signs, trying desperately to read them, "Ach, A wish A'd have learned to read when Aerith proposed it, never thought A'd use it till nou." he said as he tried to make sense of the green street sign. "Och, cripes! A'll just try te find ma way by maself!" he finally said and tried to cross the street. He quickly heard a honk from his left, and he lifted his head, just in time to panic and dodge an oncoming car. Breathing heavily, he dove into a bush and slowly pulled his head out, "Whit the blazes?" he asked and turned to the retreating car, "Watch where yer goin or A'll skelp yer bahookie (smack your bottom) ya eejit!" he yelled as he shook one of his paws at the driver like a fist. Again he looked around, finding a group of humans at the corner of the block, so he ran up to them. He looked at them, and soon moved his vision to what they were looking at, a cross walk sign. 'Whit, the…' he thought to himself just as the light changed from a red open hand, to a blue picture of a man walking. The humans started to cross just as the light changed, 'Oh!' he thought to himself as he followed close behind the group, 'The box tells ye when ye can cross wih out those cars tryin te run ye over.' he finally reached the other side just as the light changed back to a red hand, and the cards began moving again, with a satisfied huff, he proudly lifted his tail high into the air, and strutted away on all four paws.

"Well that's not something you see every day!" Reno said as he watched Cait Sith prance away across the street. "And why didn't we shoot him?" Cissnei, the red headed girl, asked. "I wanted to see just how much he'd learn in a dire situation, besides, why waste a bullet when you can let a car do the trick?" he asked, causing Elena to gawk at him as if he were crazy.

"A really need to git out more!" Cait Sith said to himself, as he walked quickly through the street, and found a group of people sitting around a small table, 'Well, it works for Red XIII, why not?' he thought to himself, and walked up to the group, "Ho ye!" he began, causing the entire group to look at him. He could see three beautiful teenage girls sitting around the table, and two slightly handsome but obviously unwanted teenage boys just standing there, one of them leaning against the table with one of his arms. "Can any of ye tell me where A can find a Mako Pool?" he asked. "Scram cat!" one of the boys growled. "Hey!" one of the girls argued. "Wait?" another of the girls asked, "The cat can talk?" Cait Sith narrowed is eyes at the girl, 'Obviously not the most canny.' he thought to himself and looked back up to the rude boy, "The name's Cait Sith laddie, and ye best learn yer manners before A crack yer clarty (dirty) ass!" he said. The third girl gasped in fright, "Oh my gosh!" she said. "Cool!" said the first girl. "What?" the first boy said with a snooty attitude, "You kick my ass!?" he said as he sauntered around the table. "Oh come on Daryl, he's just a cat!" the second boy said. "Just a cat?" Daryl asked, "This 'Cat' just signed his own death warrant!" he said and tried to kick Cait Sith. Cait Sith moved to the side quickly, dodging Daryl's attack effortlessly. "A'm a wee bit crabbit (grumpy) right nou." Cait Sith warned, "Ye dinnae want te push yer luck laddie!"

"Whatever that means!" Daryl said, and lifted his foot to stomp of Cait Sith. Again he dodged, "Och, nou ye've crossed me!" he said and let his claws extend, "A'm gonna give ye a good auld skelping (good old trashing)!" he said, and jumped up to latch onto Daryl's face, meowing and hissing as he climbed all around him and swatted his claws at any of the boys hands that tried to grab him, latching his claws to anything they would stick to. The three girls began chuckling as the display of manliness was obviously backfiring on him. "Mike, get over here and help!" Daryl finally growled as Cait Sith continued to poke him with the sharp tips of his claws. Mike finally moved from his spot next to the girls as his friend struggled to catch the elusive cat, and Cait Sith jumped off of the boy, just before they both reached for him, causing the two to collide with each other and Daryl to fall on his back, and the girls to laugh even harder. Daryl, sniffed and whipped his nose as Mike helped him up, "You'll pay for this cat!" he said as he turned to walk away. "A'm a Cat SITH, yah clarty bairn (dirty baby)!" Cait Sith called back to them, and turned to the girls, "Nou, where were we?" he asked. "Thanks for getting rid of them, they were just…ew, no, gross!" the first girl said, "I'm Kelly, and this is Megan and Holly!" she said, introducing her friends in turn. "Wait, shouldn't we call the Mako Hunters about this?" Holly asked. "Why?" Kelly asked, "He just got those jerks to go away, if he was a monster he would have killed them." she said. "Aye." Cait Sith said, "And A did it in ma normal state!"

"Normal state?" Holly asked. "Aye, lassie!" Cait Sith responded, "But, that's not important right nou. A need te find a Mako Pool te keep from making maself deid." he said. "Huh?" holly asked. "Deid!" he said, "Ye know…" and he stood up on his back two paws the best he could, using his front two to grab his heart and fall over on his back. "Oh, dead!" she said. "Ugh, tha's what A said!" he groaned as he flipped back to his paws. "You've got a pretty good ways to go!" Kelly said. "KELLY!" Holly whispered harshly. Kelly completely ignored her, and pointed to Cait Sith's right, "Go down that way for a few miles, when you get to SOLDER street, you…" she began, and was stopped by Cait Sith himself, "Uh, A'm sorry, but, A dinnae how to read!" he said sort of embarrassed. "Oh," she said, and pulled up a napkin and a pen, "Take a left at a street sign that has these letters on it." she said and turned the napkin to him, with the name of the street on it in big bold letters. "Remember, they have to be exactly in this order or it's the wrong street." she told him. Cait Sith nodded, showing her that he understood, "After that you just keep following the sidewalk until you get to the Mako Pool. It'll be on your right!"

"Thank ye, lassie!" he said politely and turned to leave. "See you later Cait Sith!" Kelly shouted, causing the cat to turn and smile at them happily. "What?" Kelly asked as she turned to Holly. "Are you sure that was smart?" Holly asked, "What if he wants to use the Mako Pool to become a Mako Monster?"

"Don't you think he would have already become one if he wanted to be one?" Kelly asked. Holly held up her finger to speak, but instead began thinking about it, "I guess you're right." she said in defeat. "Wait, was he Scottish or British?" Megan finally asked when she did speak up. Both girls looked to their friend in confusion, "That's what you were trying to figure out this whole time?" Holly asked. "Scottish, definitely!" Kelly answered.

"If he wanted to be a Mako Monster…" Cissnei repeated. "Eh, just don't think about it Cissnei!" Reno said as he moved from the shadows to follow Cait Sith. Elena placed her hand on the red head's shoulder as she passed, trying to do whatever she could to comfort her friend.

Cait Sith ran as quickly as he could, pushing his legs as quickly as they would go to get to the street Kelly had instructed, suddenly he saw a butterfly flitter by him, and he felt himself shift his focus. "NO!" he scolded himself as he shook his head, "Ye can't let those cat instincts lead yer mind. Focus, remember the letters!" he told himself and took off running again, 'Ma focus is failin, that means that the Red Mako is takin its effects on me!' Cait Sith turned his head up, glancing at each of the street signs as they passed him by. It took him longer than he wanted, but he finally found the street he remembered from the napkin, SOLDER Street. "A, this be it!" he tried to say to himself, but found it come out as a simple 'meow' and a purr. 'Uh oh!' he thought to himself, and took off down the street. He didn't get far when suddenly a large man landed in front of him, a sword in his hand made of what looked to be a single sheet of metal, but was in the same shape as the buster sword. "Good evening Cait Sith." the man said as he stood up. 'Angeal!' Cait Sith thought as he gawked at the man in front of him. "I offer you salvation!" Angeal said as he extended his free hand, "Join the Z-agents!" Cait Sith took two steps back, a primal fear attempting to take hold of him. "Join our cause, all we want is to live in peace." Angeal said, "However the un-infused aren't going to let us do that so easily. We must show them what it means to be like us. After we infuse everyone, they will know our pain."

'But a lot of people will be killed by the Mako.' Cait Sith thought to himself. "I know what you must be thinking, Mako Infusion is dangerous, and many people will die." Angeal said, "However, it is the wrath they have chosen to incur." Cait Sith started backing up further as the man calmly reached his hand to the black cat, "Join us, and help me to get your friends to see the light." Fear took hold, and Cait Sith turned to run, turning his head back just in time to see the hand of the man fall slowly back to his side. Cait Sith turned he head back to where he was running to, and found himself facing traffic again, but this time, with a panicked mind. He stopped, ducked to the side and jumped across the paths of tires as he 'leap frogged' his way across the street. He stopped half way, and turned his head, seeing a truck heading right for him. He ducked, tucking his head under his front paws and his tail in a s close as he could get it as the massive truck passed over him, just barely touching his back. Suddenly, he felt himself get picked up by the back, a strong gloved hand grabbing him by the scruff and placing him safely on a hard sturdy surface. "Were you always this accident prone?" he heard Cloud ask. Cait Sith pulled his paws off of his eyes, and glanced up, seeing his friend Robert guiding the Fenrir with Yuffie clutching to his back. "He doesn't look good Cloud!" she said as she looked to the cat. Robert simply nodded, and with a sharp turn made his way through the allies back to the Mako Pool. Yuffie reached out her hand, "I hope you can still understand me." she said to the cat, "Tap my hand once for no, twice for yes. Were you shot with Red Mako?" Cait Sith glanced to her hand, curiously at first, but with a little focus, he lifted his paw, and taped her hand twice. "You were right Cloud!" she said, "They got him, and it looks like it's almost finished taking effect."

"You were the one who was infected the longest." Robert said as he turned again. "Yah, but my batch was also the slowest." she told him. Once Robert turned the last corner, he saw Angeal, running towards him with his hand on the giant sword on his back, "Yuffie, take Cait Sith. I'll handle Angeal!" he said and grabbed the cat underneath his front legs, picking him up so that his wife could take Cait Sith and jump off of the moving bike. The instant she jumped, he opened the two sides of the Fenrir, and pulled out both his base sword and the single bladed one before letting it close again. The two warriors met in the middle, Angeal's sword clashing with Robert's. The force of Angeal's swing was great enough to pick Robert off of his bike, letting the machine continue forward and change back into the hunk of junk it used to be, just as Robert hit the ground and rolled away from Angeal's next strike, the one meant to cut off his head. The rusty old motorcycle kept going, turning to the side just right so that it slammed into the ground, shattering the right side and flipping over a car before finally splitting in half after hitting a light post. Robert got to his feet, and again clashed swords with Angeal, the fight between them was officially on.

Yuffie sailed over the Mako Pool's fence, Cait Sith firmly in her grip as she flipped. Landing in her feet, she looked up to see the red coated warrior, Genesis, standing between her and the Mako Pool, "Hey!" was all he said, the tip of his sword pointed to her. "Why do I get this 'double agent' feeling from you?" she asked. "Gotta keep up appearances!" he responded and was about to swing his sword to attack, only to find that it wouldn't move past half way. He turned his head and found the Masamune jabbed point first into the ground, and James standing on top of its handle. "See, I can make epic entrances too!" the boy said, and flipped, pulling the giant katana from the ground, pushing Genesis away from both him and Yuffie as he landed. "I can't let you hurt her, my bro would kill me." he said and again spun the Masamune above his head. Genesis stood up, readying himself, "This is incredible. No matter where I go I'm bound to run into you." he said, "It seems like destiny that we fight like this!"

"Meh!" James said as he shrugged his shoulders, "I never really cared about destiny, I just like this sword!" Genesis huffed out a small chuckle, and the two dashed to each other, again staring to clash with both excitement and power together.

Yuffie took the time to try and sneak away, only to watch another giant shurikan zoom right in front of her, "What the…?" she asked and turned to where the giant blade came from. Cissnei grabbed hold of the returning weapon high above her head, Reno and Elena by her sides. "Hello!" she said, and watched as Yuffie placed Cait Sith on the ground, "Give us the cat!" Reno suddenly said, "We don't want any trouble…" He never got to finish, instead he was interrupted when he heard Tiffa shout out, "Too bad, you found it!" When he looked up, she was in her black leather Mako Shifted outfit, just about ready to punch him after jumping from an airship, so the three of them scattered, allowing Tiffa to bury her fist into the concrete beneath them. She easily pulled her hand out of the shattered concrete, and glared at Reno, "Leave my cat alone!" she growled. 'Who said A was yer cat?' Cait Sith asked in his head. Reno stood up, reaching behind him, pulling out two stun rods that looked identical to the ones Yuffie remembered Robert describing to her, "This is going to be fun!" he said, and he dashed in to Tiffa, swinging the rods wildly as she dodged and kicked. Yuffie turned to Cissnei just as the girl lifted her giant eight bladed shurikan, and blocked it with her Conformer, "Let's see who the better ninja is!" she challenged and the two disappeared over the wall as they jumped. Elena turned to the retreating Cait Sith, "I don't think so!" she said and aimed her gun at him. He dropped his ears as he looked down the barrel in fear, and he heard a loud pop, right before she pulled the trigger. The bullet that hit her gun, knocked it off its aim, hitting him in the leg instead of the chest, 'GYAH! YE HIT MEH IN THE LEG, YE NO GOOD…!' he kept in his head, but outside Tiffa heard a loud screech of pain, "Cait Sith!" she called out as she turned her head. She turned back just in time to see Reno advance, with just enough time to grab his hands and hold him off.

Cait Sith limped off as Elena looked up, seeing Vincent as he changed into a red demon with wings and claws, the death penalty aimed at her. She quickly dodged to one side as Chaos flared his wings and touched the ground gently, and wrapped its wings around its body, changing the wings into the tattered cape and revealing Vincent again. He quickly pulled out the red orb he found in his friend's place, and glared at Elena, "Let's see you handle my best friend!" he said, and crushed the orb in his hand. A white light sprayed out from his fist, and Vincent tossed the light into the air, letting it grow and shape itself into that of a giant suite of armor, with arms shaped like castle towers. "What the…" Elena shouted and pushed her sleeve back, revealing what looked to be a small blue watch. She quickly pressed the top of the watch, and through a burst of light, another demon appeared, one that looked strikingly like a Minotaur with flaming red hair along his head and back like a lion's mane, dark tan skin and golden shackles on his wrists. "Ifrit!" Elena called out, "Attack that…tower…thing!"

"That 'tower thing' happens to be my best friend, Alexander!" Vincent said, and pulled up his Cerberus, Elena quickly dodged to one side and pointed her own pistol at him, squeezing off a shot as he effortlessly moved to one side, letting the bullet pass right through his cape.

Cait Sith watched as the Ifrit jumped up to the Alexander, and took a swing, punching the massive armor with a fist of fire, and lowered his gaze down to the Mako Pool, 'Well, here goos nothing!' he thought to himself, and limped up to the side of the Pool, looking into to green liquid, 'A hate water!' he told himself and with a bit of focus, placed his paw against his nose and tumbled in. Furiously he kicked, trying to swim the best he could towards the middle all the while, he felt the Mako seeping into him through the bullet hole in his leg. He felt calm, take control of him, and his power began to grow, he could feel it. Suddenly he began shifting, his eyes squinted and his front paws turned into arms and hands, white gloves seemed to grow from the fur as his toes stretched into fingers. With a wisp of power, boots surrounded his back feet and upper legs as they straightened into bipedal legs. The white on his chest spread out until it engulfed his entire chest aria, and raveled up his face in a triangle formation. Hs eyes squinted almost shut, and a red cape grew around his neck. He quickly switched from his usual cat style of swimming, into what he remembered seeing humans do on the TV, only to find out that he was in fact, only waist deep to himself. "Oh, heh!" he said to himself and turned, finding Elena returning fire and hiding behind the lip of the Mako Pool. With a sprint, he took off. Elena didn't see him, until he grabbed her arm, "Get off of me!" she cried out, and flung him away from her, only to turn back to him in shock, "When did you…?" she asked, and he suddenly tossed her blue watch into the air. She frantically moved to the wrist that he had clung to, and moved her sleeve, finding the device missing. "No," she gasped, "The prototype summoner!" and with a lunge tried to retrieve it. Cait Sith, jumped over her as she landed, quickly placing the device around his own wrist, "Thank ye fer the present!" he said as he landed, and turned to the warring creatures, "Ifrit, come on back!" he said, and Ifrit turned to him, sailing quickly as the creature dove back into the watch. "Oh shoot!" Elena whispered to herself as Reno and Cissnei both landed next to her, Reno on his back and Cissnei on her feet. "We gotta get out of here!" Elena said, and the three of them turned, taking off out of the entrance of the facility, passing by several guards on the way. "What the…?" one of the guards asked as they watched the three black suites run. They turned again, only to find the place empty of everyone except Cait Sith, hanging from a rope ladder, "A hae tae gang laddies! (I have to go boys) A'm sairy fer the trouble!"

Inside the airship, Aerith reached down and Cait Sith made it to the top, and he gratefully reached up to take her hand so she could pull him in, "Thank ye!" he said as he stepped foot onto the floor. "Yer welcome pardner!" she said in response. "You ok Cait Sith?" Yuffie asked. "Aye!" he responded, "and thank ye all fer comin to ma rescue."

"That's what friends do Cait Sith!" he heard Red XIII say. The little fox cub trotted up to the transformed cat, and planted a big wet lick right on his cheek, "And we're all your friends." Cait Sith looked around the cabin, seeing everyone that he knew. Robert and James each smiled at him, Yuffie and Tiffa gave him the thumbs up while Barret pressed his fists together. Cid smiled as he chewed on his toothpick and Vincent huffed happily as he gave the cat a ghost of a smile. "Friends!" Cait Sith whispered to himself, "Cid, ye mind droppin me off fer a second?" he asked. "Hell, my new airship'll take yah anywhere!" he said. "Good!" was all Cait Sith said and changed back into his normal cat form.

"Well, well, well!" the three girls heard as they walked around, "We just keep meeting up don't we?" Daryl said. "Go away Daryl!" Kelly said in disgust. "Why so eager to run. The cat's gone so why not let me keep you company?" he responded as he stepped in their way. Mike followed close behind, a sinister smirk on his face. "Ew! Gross Daryl!" Holly replied, knowing what he really meant. "The lassie has a point!" the group heard Cait Sith say. Daryl and Mike turned around, spying the cat only a few feet away. "Not you again!" Daryl complained, "What do I have to do to get rid of you?"

"Dinna fash yersel! (don't worry)" Cait Sith responded, "A'm here te say hello te ma friends." Kelly knelt down and picked him up, "Hello to you to Cait Sith!" she said, "Did you find your Mako Pool?" With a smile Cait Sith nodded, "Aye!" he said, "And a few other things too!" Just then, Robert and the others turned the corner, standing behind Daryl and Mike. "Are these your friends Cait Sith?" Robert asked, and the two boys turned their head, fully expecting to see more cats, and finding a shock. "Uh…" Daryl began. "Aye! These three lassies were the right biggest help to me. Them ladies…nae!" All it took was a single crack of James' knuckles, and the two boys took off running. "Lassies, these are ma friends…" Cait Sith began.

**To Be Continued…**


	12. Ch 12 Then We Spared, Now It's War

**Chapter 12 – Then We Spared, Now It's War**

_Italic letters are Memory_ _Normal letters are the story

Robert sat there with a smile on his face. The couch at the house they shared was plush and comfortable. The white leather supported both him and his sleeping wife as she laid her head on his lap. She had worked really hard trying to repair the shop now that they had some quiet time. 'Is this the life I had before?' he asked himself, and closed his eyes. He felt himself be pulled into another world, the sudden swift pull on his soul as he moved into the promised land, "You're in deep thought!" he heard Cloud say. "I'm still remembering." Robert said, and looked down, seeing his wife still in his lap, though the couch had changed to an ornate park bench with a few children playing close by. "She's pretty!" he heard another girl say, and the other Yuffie walked up behind Cloud, placing her hands to her knees as she looked at the sleeping face of Robert's wife. Robert simply smiled and nodded. "Still can't remember anything?" she asked as she looked up to the guard. "Bits and pieces!" Robert said as he softly stroked his wife's hair, "Mostly little things. All of them important!" Cloud smiled and nodded, "Memory is very important!" he agreed, "Especially if it's about someone you love!"

"But don't get so caught up in the past that you forget the future!" Yuffie suddenly said as she looked to the girl that represented her, and with one single finger, touched the sleeping girl's cheek, "She's got soft cheeks for someone who grew up on the streets!" she observed, and Robert's vision went white. He opened his eyes again, finding himself on his couch again. He turned his head down to his wife, 'The future huh?' he asked himself as he felt her shift, beginning to wake, 'Wish I knew what it was!' With a yawn, his Yuffie sat up and stretched, "Thanks for being my pillow!" she said and planted a kiss on his cheek. "Any time!" was all he said and stood up with her, the two of them walking out the door towards the old shop.

Again Cloud smiled as he sat on the bench his counterpart once occupied, 'Those two, they should be perfect together as they build the future!' he thought, and was interrupted by his Yuffie. "So how come **we** never get that close Cloud?" she asked, simply trying to get him to blush, or just to tease him, he wasn't sure. Cloud turned to her, finding her upside down on the bench, her feet hanging over the top at her knees and her back where her but should have been, her black hair hanging off the edge and her hands folded ever so gently across her stomach as she looked up at him, "Cause you drool in your sleep!" he commented, and stood up as she let her jaw drop. "I…I…I do not!" she shouted as she swiveled to sit upright and watch him walk away. Cloud stopped, and turned to her with a cheeky smile on his face, "Why you…!" she called out, and hopped over the bench, chasing him as he ran around the playground, the ninja and two children chasing after him.

"Ok, let's just stock the shelves and we'll be just fine!" James said as he looked over a clipboard, "Thanks for your help, guys!" Tiffa looked up from behind a brand new register, her eyebrow quirked in confusion, "What do you mean help, **we** did all of the work!" she said. James simply smiled, "Not really, supervising is a tough job!" he responded snidely. "Yah I'll bet!" Barret responded sarcastically as he entered the room, a large box of games on his shoulder. "Besides, I had a lot of paperwork to do!" James added in as he waved the clip board. Robert and Yuffie walked in seconds later, each of them laughing at something the other had said, "Hey bro!" James said as he walked up to the two of them, "How was your break?" Robert stopped in front of his brother, eyeing the boy up and down. James now had on a blue golf shirt and fresh white jeans with blue sneakers, "It was fine!" he said calmly, and didn't move much as James pressed the clipboard into his stomach. "Good, cause now it's my turn!" he said and headed for the door, just as Robert looked to the paper work. "James, there's nothing but drawings on this clipboard!" he said, and Tiffa looked up. "Wait, what?" she asked, "He said he was doing important paperwork!"

"No, I said I had paperwork to do. Doesn't mean I did it now!" James said in return and took off out the door as Tiffa chased after him. Robert simply smiled as he tossed the clipboard onto the front counter. "Let's get this place cleaned up and ready for business!" he said and reached out to grab some games from one of the open boxes in front of him.

"Shouldn't we attack now while they're distracted?" Angeal asked as he turned to Genesis, "NAH!" the red clad warrior said, "They just got it back up and running, besides, I kinda want to shop there when it's all said and done!" Angeal turned his head to look to his partner, and held out his hand, Mako Shifting a flat sword the same size and shape as the Buster Sword, "Dude you know that the boss has the real Buster Sword right?" Genesis said, causing Angeal to look ahead of him, anger hidden in his features, "He said it's real, so I believe him. Besides, what other Buster Sword is there?" he asked and jumped high into the air, leaving Genesis to smile. "Even I don't believe him all the time!" he said to himself and followed after his partner.

Yuffie held onto the last of a large stack of old games that she quickly placed, trying hard to keep them in alphabetical order as she grabbed them from her arm and placed them on the shelf, "Ok, and Zeo-Bots 2." she said as she placed the last game on the shelf, "Huh, only one of them?" she asked herself, "Usually we have like three of them."

"Is it a popular game?" Robert asked as he walked up to her. "Kind of…you still can't remember anything except me can you?" she said as she turned her head up to him. He simply shook his head, "I wish I could." he said, "Then I wouldn't feel so bad about everyone else." Suddenly they heard a knock from the door, both turning around to see Genesis standing there knocking gently on the open door, "Are you open yet?" he asked. "Not yet," he heard James say from behind him, "But as long as you keep the fighting to a maximum of zero, you can be a special case!" Genesis smiled, and walked in, "I haven't seen these kinds of games in ten years!" he said as he gawked at the shelves, "Oh cool, Archer Kings!" Robert smiled and walked behind the counter, "Yup, and its sequel." James announced as he pointed behind his fighting buddy, "Archer Kings 2, Royal Fortune?" Genesis asked as he turned around. "Yup, they never made it for the original console." James said. "So that's why I never got to play it!" Genesis surmised. Robert was glad the old place was back up. Small memories of him running the place for or with his brother came back one at a time, "I got every game console you can think of as well, you can buy your own if you want. I promise you a really good price!" James said. Genesis scoffed, "I never trust a used console." he said. "Neither do I!" James said, "That's why I order new hard drives every time we get one in." Genesis looked to his friend, "You mean it's like buying a brand new console for a used price?" he asked. James placed his finger against his cheek in thought, "Yah, I guess it is!" Robert and Yuffie smiled at the sight, it was like two best friends catching up after one of them was on a long trip, but something caught Robert's eye. Outside of the shop, turning a corner, he saw someone he thought knew, "Excuse me!" he said as he released Yuffie and made his way out the door. The woman watched as he left, and walked out the door, silently following him.

The man in front of Robert kept on moving, almost as if leading him somewhere, "Excuse me…" he started, and the man turned his head, the long black hair moving to the side, just barely letting him get a glimpse of the man's face. 'Angeal!' he thought to himself after recognizing the man. Robert turned around, wanting to leave, but instead he found another man behind him, "Hello Robert!" the man said. The baby like face and black hair reminded him of someone, but the voice was what triggered the memory.

_Robert stood at attention as he watched Peter and the other man switch places, "Hey," he said, trying to break the silence, "Never seen you around!" he continued when he didn't get a response. Again the man remained silent, only moving his eyes to look at Robert, "What's your name?" Robert finally asked. The man finally turned his head, his glowing blue eyes hiding a sinister purpose, but when he spoke, there was a kindness to his voice that almost completely made you forget the evil you saw, "My name is Zack, and you're the new guy right?" he asked._

"Zack?" Robert asked. "That's my name don't wear it out!" Zack said with a smile. "What are you doing here?" Robert asked and turned his head, sensing Angeal as he Mako Shifted his sword. "Recognize this?" the man asked. "Robert wracked his brain as he looked at the plane looking sword, "No, sorry!" he said and Mako Shifted his base sword as Zack tried to stab him with the double bladed sword. Zack was forced to sprawl forward, stopping in front of Angeal, "Well," Zack said, "You're better than I thought you'd be. But then again, I shouldn't have expected so little from the man who defeated Sephiroth!" he said as he turned to Robert. "How do you know about Sephiroth?" Robert asked. "Oh, I helped the silver haired man make the decision to possess your brother, by delivering him the vassal he needed." Zack said as he placed his sword on his shoulder. The black haired warrior lifted his hand, and curled his fingers in, taunting Robert to come to him. "You?" Robert asked as he finally remembered what happened to his brother, the memories that flooded his mind, came quickly, and Robert was forced to grab his head with his hands as the pain increased, "It was you who Mako Infused my brother?" he asked in a growl. "To be fair, I never expected you to actually beat Sephiroth, I planned on doing it myself!" Zack said and was surprised when Robert lifted his head. "Are you insane?" he asked, "My brother is crazy enough as it is, you didn't need to give him enough power to do anything he wants!" Zack turned to Angeal as the man stood there wide eyed, "What?" he asked. Angeal simply shrugged his shoulders. Robert lifted his sword as he readied himself, "Who are you working for?" he asked. Zack smiled and laughed, "I work for no one anymore!" he said and placed his hand on Angeal's armored shoulder, "But I do have others working for me!"

"Wait…those Z-Agents are yours?" Robert asked in shock. "What, are you shocked?" Zack asked as he walked around Angeal, "You could see it in my eyes couldn't you? The day we met, you saw the destiny of the world in my eyes. The plans I have for it."

"What are you doing Zack?" Robert asked as he readied himself for a fight. Angeal quickly placed his sword against Robert's throat, threatening the man, "What am I planning?" Zack repeated, "I'm going to shower the world in Mako. Everyone will be just like us, and those that don't survive will just have to be dealt with."

"CLOUD!?" they all heard Yuffie call out. Zack turned to Angeal, "Take care of the girl!" he said, and turned back to Robert as his henchman jumped away. "Leave her alone!" the ex-guard growled. "But Robert, she'll be just fine." Zack said, "Just watch as I unite the world under the power of Mako, watch as I become the hero this world needs!" Robert reached back quickly, almost as if he were reaching for a sword, and Mako Shifted his base sword as he brought it down on Zack. The black haired man lifted both of his hands, and out came the Buster Sword. The two blades clanged as they connected, and Robert nearly froze as he remembered the blade. The golden hilt, the red woven handle and the circuit like design on the flat of the blade all struck memories.

_Sinking, that was the feeling he had. He was sinking in the Mako that he once guarded, a stab in his chest and a gulp of the liquid in his throat, he felt his body begin to relax. He caught the glint of something in the corner of his eye, and turned. There at the bottom of the pool, was a large sword. Forcing himself to stay conscious, he swam, reaching for the blade as he got closer. The moment he touched the sword, a voice came to him, "Sit back, I got this!" the brooding voice said, and his body moved on its own, turning so that his feet were against the ground, and jumped._

"That's my sword!" Robert said. "Oh so you do remember it!" Zack said cockily, "Well, it serves a new master now!" With those final words, Zack pushed Robert's sword away, and jumped back, turning the sword upside down, and acting like he was going to pull a scabbard off by gripping the top. He slowly slid his hand down, a red energy spreading across the sword, changing it into the Ulima Weapon sword Robert remembered. Zack moved his hand down the blade, but stopped half way, and it looked as if he were struggling to continue. Suddenly his hand slipped, and the red energy shot back up, changing the blade back into the Buster Sword. "What is going on?" Zack asked in anger, "I should have been able to wield the most powerful sword in the entire universe!"

"Maybe it doesn't like you!" Robert said and charged in, clashing his sword against the Buster Sword. The two of them would have continued, if Yuffie hadn't screamed. "YUFFIE!" Robert called out and turned, dashing off towards her voice. Zack stood there, growling angrily as he watched Robert disappear around the corner, "Why?" he asked, "I saw you transform it myself. Why can't I do it as well?"

Angeal slammed his sword into the ground as Yuffie rolled away, just barely cutting a few of her hairs as she simply rolled around. With a quick kick of her legs, Yuffie jumped back up and lifted her Conformer just in time to block a strike, "You jerk!" she screamed as she tried to jump over the sword. Quickly Angeal spun around, forcing her to block again as he struck. The force he used actually knocked Yuffie off of her feet, and across the street. Angeal tried to pursue her, but heard a loud battle above him, and turned. Robert came down hard, striking Angeal's sword as the man blocked. The force was strong enough to cause the ground to collapse under him, crumbling the concrete under his boots. "How can a messenger be this strong?" Angeal asked as his knees buckled under the power of the brown haired man. The moment Angeal hit the ground, Robert once again jumped off of the man, and spun his sword in mid air. Too late did Angeal realize that the sword was complete as he gazed up at the man. Robert let a familiar power flow, filling him up and causing his eyes to shine brightly, "Limit Break!" he whispered and curled his legs under him. Robert swung the giant sword around, flipping it easily and with a mighty throw, tossed the blade at Angeal. The sword came apart in mid air, falling to the ground as if they were meteors surrounded by the same blue glow that came from his eyes.

Angeal quickly pulled his body from the ground, crouching just right so that when he jumped, he jumped away from the impact sight. "How can you induce Limit Break I wonder?" he asked as Robert touched down, manly to himself. With a simple toss of his empty hand, Angeal vanished in a bright flash of light, one that forced Yuffie and Robert to guard their eyes from damage. "Damn!" Yuffie said as she looked back up, "He used a flash bomb to distract us." Robert remained silent as he stood there, and suddenly just feinted, "CLOUD!" Yuffie screamed out as she rushed to his side. "Cloud, Wake up!" she said as she shook him, "Wake up!"

Robert woke up, once again surrounded by white, and lying on a patch of grass, that only seemed to stretch as far as his feet. "Something the matter?" he heard Cloud ask. "Were you a messenger?" Robert responded. Cloud appeared out of the white, almost as if the man faded back into existence, "After I beet Sephiroth the first time. But that was by choice." he chuckled. Robert refused to move, he just found his place so comfortable. "Are you just going to lie there all day?" he heard the other Yuffie ask. The girl appeared next to Cloud, her face looking to the sky. "I just…" Robert began and quickly lost his words. "You sound just like Cloud you know that!" she said, and turned to the brown haired man, "Get up and quit brooding!"

"It's easier said than done Yuffie!" Cloud told her, and then Robert heard another voice, one he didn't recognize. "You worried about what that other Zack said?" the voice asked. Robert finally moved, turning his head he saw the spitting image of the Zack he had just fought against, except this one had eyes that didn't hide something sinister behind them, just kindness. "Who are you?" Robert asked. "I'm the real Zack!" the man said, and lifted one of his hands to wave. "You mean the Zack from Cloud's world?" Robert asked. "Yah, I guess you could say it like that!" Zack said, "I'm Zack Fair, but my friends just call me Zack." Robert simply nodded, "What did he mean when he said he's going to become the hero this world needs?" he asked. Zack simply shrugged, "Not sure!" he said, "But I'm willing to bet that it's going to end in disaster!" Cloud nodded his agreement, "You'll need to stop him!" Yuffie said and smiled. "Can I really?" Robert asked. Cloud slid his hand under the man's back, "You'll never know until you try!" he said, and forced Robert to sit up.

Robert once again found himself in his own world, Yuffie looking to him with a worried expression, "Cloud!" she asked as she calmed down from her panic, "Are you alright, you just blacked out!" Robert looked to her, confused at first but quickly regaining his composure, "I'm fine Yuffie," he said, "We need to get the others together. I'll explain it on the way!"

**To be continued…**


	13. Ch 13 Then Was Nothing, Now We're Heroes

**Chapter 13 – Then Was Nothing, Now We're Heroes**

"When were you going to tell us he could perform Limit Break?" Angeal asked as he slammed his hands down on a wooden desk. The mangled walls that surrounded them were from an office building, one that looked to have been abandoned a long time ago. Whatever paint was on the inside was peeling, and the ceiling was warping dangerously. Outside, one could see nothing but destruction and the fallen bodies of what looked to be monsters. Zack sat behind the same wooden desk, an ornate oak desk that had been scratched up on the right side, and stained with what looked to be blood. The frown on his face was one of focus, as if he were listening only to his thoughts. Genesis watched as they stared at each other while he leaned up against one of the walls, "Limit Break?" he asked. The two broke out of their staring contest, and turned to him, "Are you serious?" Angeal asked, only to get a questioning look from Genesis. Zack stood up tall, letting his hair fall down his back, "The technique is something passed down when you survive Mako Infusion. When you are forced beyond your limits in battle, the power of the Mako in your body will overflow and teach you a powerful attack instantly." he said "Even after Limit Break the move will be accessible to you, however severally powered down and it gets harder and harder to Limit Break each time, because you always get stronger from it."

"You seriously didn't know that?" Angeal asked. "Hey, no one ever told me!" Genesis defended as he lifted his hands up. "Leave him alone Angeal!" Zack said, "I didn't think it was worth mentioning because he'd already induced Limit Break four times before. It should have been nearly impossible for him to do it again!" Genesis looked up at them and whistled, "Well, now I'm impressed!"

"Well now I'm impressed!" James said as he watched Yuffie flail her arms around telling everyone how her husband had saved her. "You better be, I mean, he was like 'Woosh', 'woosh'." she said as she spun her empty hand above her head before throwing it in front of her, "And then, 'VOOM!' And the swords all came apart and slammed into the ground like meteors from outer space! I swear there're still craters out there!"

"Sweet!" James said in excitement, "I can't wait to fight Genesis again, maybe I'll find my own Limit Break!" Yuffie chuckled, "You've got enough power, we don't want to have you going Limit Break." she said. "Hey that's not fair, he's done it how many times now?" James asked. "That was my fifth time." was all Robert said in response. Yuffie turned around and wrapped her arms around his neck, "And for that I thank you!" she said. James and Aerith adopted a curious look as the rest simply chuckled or smiled. "Why is that?" Robert asked and was greeted by a kiss on the lips from his wife. "Because each time was for me. You broke you limits to save me!" she said when the broke apart. "Well! Let's get movin you ass holes!" Cid said as he twisted his toothpick in his mouth, "If we're gonna find Zack before he turns the world against us, we should head out now."

"But what about the shop?" Tiffa asked. "No worries." James told her, "I've got some friends named Densel and Marleen who will help with that." Yuffie smiled brightly, "How about Jessie?" she asked. "The friend Tiffa had be your Bride's Maid and Vincent's date?" Barret asked. Before Tiffa could answer, Robert spoke up, "Great call her up, and I can get hold of Biggs and Wedge! They're old friends from my months as a Mako Pool guard, they owe me some favors!" he said, "Now let's get moving!"

"Wait, I'm not completely packed yet!" James said suddenly. "Just what are you bringing?" Tiffa asked. "Oh, just the essentials!" James said innocently.

Tiffa let her jaw drop to the floor as she watched James hook up an old game console she's seen in his store to a large TV screen he had somehow snuck on board. "These are your essentials?" she asked as she looked around his room. He had successfully placed his favorite snow gear in his closet, grabbed every poster he had, and stuffed his sock drawer with candy and chips. Yet his floor was still clean. He'd also managed to sneak aboard several old games and three different consoles. "Yup!" he told her, just as Cid spoke over the loud speaker, "Alright, now listen up you bastards. We're takin off now so get yer asses on deck." he said. "You heard the man." James said as he stood up and turned Tiffa around by her shoulders, "We have to meet him on deck!" Tiffa frowned as he shooed her out of his room, "I can't believe you!" she said, "We're trying to save the world and you bring video games and your snowboard!" James smiled as he locked the door behind him, "One, no one said it had to be boring, two, most of those games I'm still play testing…" he said. "Translation, you haven't beaten them yet!" Tiffa suddenly said, interrupting him. James rolled his eyes to look up, almost wanting an answer to just fall into his brain, "Yah, I guess!" he finally said when nothing else came to mind. Tiffa rolled her eyes in frustration, "And the snowboard?" she asked. With a huge smile, he flexed his right arm and held onto it with his left hand, "You never know when you'll find a great place to use them!" he said. Tiffa sighed, and was interrupted by Cid, "JAMES, TIFFA, WE'RE ALL WAITING FER YOU! GIT YER ASSES IN GEAR!" the fisherman shouted. "We'd better book it!" he said, receiving a nod from his friend, and the two began their run down the corridor towards the deck.

"Sorry we're late!" James said as he and Tiffa made it to the deck. "Yah, yah!" Cid said and was quickly shushed by his wife Shera. Robert stood in front of them, has arms folded and a stern look masking his face, "Alright, our objective is to find and neutralize Zack and his Z-Agents before they do too much damage." he said, "We know that Angeal thinks Zack is going to infect everyone with Mako, but somehow I doubt that's the truth. Zack said he wants to be the hero this world needs, so our first priority is to find Zack, only he knows what's really going on."

"How do y'all know that?" Aerith asked. Robert turned to her, "Because he's a loner, he was that way in the Mako Pool guard so that's what I'm going off of." he replied. "Wait, you remember him?" Yuffie asked. "Yah, it happened when I met him face to face." he responded, "Either way, he needs to be stopped. Though I'd prefer to keep him alive, maybe we can help him in some way."

"Whit if the eejit jist dennae give in?" Cait Sith asked. "Then we'll have no choice, I'll even do it myself if I have to." Robert told them with hesitation, "Yuffie and I will take Fenrir along the ground, the rest of you take to the sky and keep an eye out for him." James pumped his fist in the air, "Finally, action, adventure," he said and gently placed one of his arms around Aerith's shoulders, "And good company!" he said smoothly. "Just keep your eyes on the ground!" Robert said sternly, "We're not on one of your random adventure trips, this is serious."

"Alright, alright!" James said as Robert pushed past them, "Kill joy!" Suddenly a realization hit him and he turned to find his brother and his wife exiting the bridge door, "Wait, does this mean you remember me too?" he asked, just as the door closed. Tiffa placed a hand on his shoulder, "That would be a 'yes', James." she said. "That's bad!" James told her, startling everyone, "He'll want pay-back for me stealing his Halloween candy!"

"I heard that!" Robert shouted from beyond the door. James simply slouched, sagging his shoulders in defeat, "There goes my secret!" he told himself.

If James focused hard enough, he was sure he could still see the speck of his brother on the roads. He was surprised at how fast that bike could move and he found himself wishing he had one like it, "That would be cool!" he said to that thought, and found something in the corner of his eye moving toward him. At first he didn't pay attention, but the faster it went the more he recognized it. With only a second to spare, he Mako Shifted the Masamune and blocked as Genesis slammed into him. The two of them fell off of the side of the Shera, (Cid's new air ship) and tumbled towards the ground below. "Carful!" James said as he quickly pushed Genesis away, "You act like you want to kill me!" Genesis simply chuckled as he placed one foot on top of the other. James followed suit, "I had faith you would see me!" he said, and the two of them jumped off of their own feet, charging in at each other and clashing swords again. "You do realize we're at 16000 feet right?" James asked. "Do you think that's a problem?" Genesis asked as he deflected another strike and spun around, clashing his sword into the Masamune again. "By the way, how'd you knock me off of the Shera?" James asked, his smile never leaving his face. "Oh you know." Genesis said with laughter in his voice, "The usual way. Saw you guys, climbed into a giant fortress cannon and got them to shoot me at you!" James laughed at the joke as they once again separated, "You mean that big ass thing at the Junon Military Museum? They told me it didn't work!" Genesis smiled as once again they dashed in towards each other, "That's your problem, you asked." he said. James smiled again as he pushed away and pointed himself towards the ground. With a quick push of his legs he dashed down, Genesis following close by. James turned around and swiped his sword back and forth; creating a mass of air blades that sailed right at his opponent. With a smile as wide as a cartoon's Genesis slashed at each of them, and with a dash of his own, raced after James. The Sephiroth stand in, pulled his head backward, turning him completely upside down as Genesis' sword passed by. Once again Genesis met his eyes, and the two of them clashed swords again.

"Have you ever played 'Run Monkey Run' upside down?" James suddenly asked as they continued to dance and turn in mid air. "Are you kidding, it's the only way anyone can get passed round one!" Genesis said while he laughed. James smiled, "I agree, I have no idea what that game designer was thinking!" he said. Once again they pushed off of each other, and with one foot on top of the other, back flipped only inches from the ground, landing smoothly on their feet. "Nice landing!" Genesis commented. "Thanks!" James said. And suddenly Genesis smiled, "Dude, what would you say if I asked you to join the Z-Agents?" James pretended to think about it, and dashed in, locking his sword with Genesis'. "You mean those thugs that think their tough just because they have Mako in them and work for Zack?" he asked. "Oh come on dude. I work for Zack!" Genesis said as he pushed against James. The swords seemed to explode with power as the two warriors separated, "Reluctantly!" James countered as the two of them landed some ten yards away, "Sorry buddy, but no thanks. He'd never let us fight like this and you know it." This time Genesis pretended to think about it, and dashed in, slamming his sword against the Masamune, "I guess you have a point there!" he said with a smile. James smiled, "You wanted me to say no!" he said and pushed Genesis away by bumping into him and throwing his sword to the side. Genesis landed gracefully on the ground and smirked, "Why whatever do you mean?" he asked in a false shock. James smiled again, "I like you kid!" he said. "So tell me, why do you keep fighting, even if I'm not there to face you?" Genesis asked. "Oh that's easy!" James said as quickly lifted his sword in the air, swinging it high and bringing it down in front of him, "I just like this sword!" and placed his free hand in his pocket, leaning back casually and smiling at his friend. Genesis smiled, "Should have known you'd say that!" he said and the two of them jumped into the air, clashing swords again. "What about you?" James asked. "I don't like Zack in the least." the red clad warrior said, "I just fight for him because he's helping my family stay alive. He promised to feed them and cloth them and keep them safe."

"Hell, I'm rich, maybe I can help!" James said. Genesis lowered his face as they landed, and ducked a horizontal swing. He decided to take one of his own swings, and James lifted the Masamune to block, "No thanks dude, then I'd feel like I had to go easy on you!" he said. James was just about to argue, but the look in Genesis' eyes when he lifted his face told him what he needed to know. "Kay!" James said as once again they backed away from each other, "Just be careful, I'm not sure Zack can be trusted."

"I will be!" Genesis said as he reached into his maroon coat and pulled out a pistol, "Zack wanted me to hit you with this. He's scared of your limitless power!"

"Limitless huh?" James thought out loud. "That is why you cannot Limit Break, you have none to break, at least that's what he told me." Genesis explained and shot the dart of red Mako at James' feet just as the Shera lowered quickly to the ground, kicking up dust, "But I like you kid! Don't ever change!"

"What about one little rule!" James shouted as Genesis turned around, "We never involve the innocent in our fights no matter what. It just wouldn't be fair." Genesis turned his head as the dust thickened, "I agree. No hostages. Just you and me!" he said as he disappeared from view by the dust.

"Welcome back!" Vincent said as he stood there, waiting for James to land on the deck. "Thanks!" James said as he smiled to the man with the dark aura. "Well?" Vincent asked. "Hm?" James wondered as he walked up next to his friend, "Oh Genesis? He got lonely and wanted another match." James easily slid by, entering the Shera without any confrontation. When he got to the bridge, that was another story.

"What the hell happened?" Cid asked angrily, "I got you on camera one minute and the next, gone! What'd you do, jump off for fun?"

"Sorry Cid." James apologized, "Genesis decided to pay a visit."

"A visit?" Cid asked as he leaned over the large metal wheel of the Shera. "That must a been some surprise visit to knock yah off a yer feet like that!" Aerith said innocently. Cid slapped his own face and sighed, "Yah, it was." James said with a smile. "Did you two fight?" she asked. James stood there, looking into her eyes as he thought about his answer, "Yes." he finally said, "Yes we did!" Aerith smiled brightly, "That's good!" she said, causing everyone in the Shera so stop in surprise. "You two are the best a friends, so Ah don't need to worry." she said, clearing up the confusion, "If'n you two didn't fight, then Ah'd be worried!" she said and playfully patted him on the face. James smiled a little as she walked past him, "Hey," he called after her, "Wanna play some video games?" he asked. "The hell?" Cid asked as they left, "When did that bastard have time to grab video games?"

"He snuck them aboard." Tiffa said. Vincent smiled and let lose a snort of a laugh. "What's so funny?" Tiffa asked. "Just that everyone here except him and I think it was a bad idea. At least there's something to do in his down time." Vincent said and lifted from the wall. "Dinnae tell me ye're encouraging this." Cait Sith said in surprise. "Not in the least, but on the other hand James and I have a little score to settle!" Vincent said and continued his walk. "I know we shouldn't have made Vincent the play tester!" Barrett said as he slapped his hand against his forehead. Red XIII took off, barking and yipping happily as he raced after Vincent, "Did he bring any of the older consoles? Those are the only ones I can play!" he shouted.

Zack focused hard as he waited, his eyes staring into what looked to be a Mako Pool. This one was surrounded by cave walls, thick supports carved out when the Life Stream had made its home here. Zack once saw this place as beautiful, but now his mind was focused on someone else. 'Robert!' he thought, 'Why are you getting so much stronger so quickly? I'm the strongest, I should be the hero. So why does the Ultima Weapon still chose you as its master and not me. What am I missing?'

"Sorry boss!" he heard Genesis say. He barely moved an eye to greet him, he just continued to stare at the Mako in the pool, "I couldn't hit him with the Red Mako, he destroyed the dart in mid air!" Genesis lied as he stood there at the entrance. Zack's eyes narrowed in anger, 'Very well. You may leave!" he said. Genesis nodded and kicked off of the cave wall before walking away. 'Again I fall short.' Zack said, and Mako Shifted the Buster Sword into his hand, 'Why, when I have the strongest weapon in all the worlds, do I keep falling?'

**To Be Continued…**


	14. Ch 14 Then we Laughed, Now we Ride

**Chapter 14 – Then We Laughed, Now We Ride**

Robert pushed the throttle of the Fenrir to its max as he rocketed through the streets below. His eyes focused on the blur of colors as he tried carefully to make sure he knew where he was going. Yuffie hugged his back, resting her head and holding him close. She rested happily, holding onto him and never wanting to let him go again. Robert smiled once again as she sighed happily into his back, "What's up?" he asked with a chuckle. "Just happy!" she said letting her eyes close gently. Robert grinned a little, his smile finally returning to his face as he finally felt comfortable with his life again. He remembered how long it took to smile at his old job, two months. Only when he finally made a friend in the guard did he finally open up, 'I'm glad you're here Yuffie, I would just die without you.' he thought to himself, and turned back to the road, just in time to see the wreckage of a large semi-truck that stopped right in the middle of the road and flipped over onto its side in front of him. He quickly slammed on the breaks, turning the bike to its side in order to slow down faster. His world went black as he found himself and Yuffie slam into the top of the trailer.

When he awoke, he was covered in metal and whatever was inside the truck, his vision still blurry didn't help him identify it very well, but he could easily tell that the top of the truck had collapsed in and folded on top of him. 'Ah, Damnit!' he thought to himself as he lay there in pain. "Uh! Yuffie?" he called out groggily as he tried to weekly push up on the truck top. There was no response, and his mind took a few seconds before he forced it to wake up. "Yuffie?" he called out again and pushed the top off of himself quickly. He looked around, finding only the inside of the truck and a beat up Harley Davidson motorcycle outside. With a quick move, he grabbed his head in pain, looking down at the piles of destroyed toys and stuffed animals, probably destined for the Midgar Market or mall stores. Staggering, he made his way to the opening he had made, and glanced out. "Ow, son of a …!" he said to himself as the bright sun assaulted his dark adjusted eyes, "Yuffie?!" he called out and turned from side to side. Down on the ground in front of him, he saw a clue, a small pool of blood that looked as if part of it were smeared, almost like the body were being dragged away, "Ho no!" he whispered to himself as the blood disappeared and was replaced by the tire marks of a getaway vehicle. "A set up." Robert told himself and bent down to lift the bike back up. About mid way he felt his head ache again, the pain pounding in the temples of his brain, yet he ignored it with a grunt and pushed the bike back up to its wheels. He pulled his arm across his face, and Mako Shifted his base sword. With one mighty swing, he moved the destroyed truck aside, clearing a path for him. He lifted his leg, swinging it over the seat of the bike and Mako Shifting it back into the Fenrir. Robert then punched the throttle, rocketing off in the direction the tracks were pointing, right into the heart of an old town nearby.

James wandered about, looking at all of the gears and things that ran the Shera and kept it afloat, "Man, this place reminds me of the scene in Archer Kings 2 where you find the ancient ship in the mountains and have to use some Thunder Shafted arrows to restart the engines." he said to himself. "Hey, no spoilers. I just got to that stage!" he heard a familiar voice from behind him. James smiled as he closed his eyes, "Hey Genesis!" he said, and spun around, lifting his Masamune just in time to clash with the red sword of the man he called his friend, "Let's keep the fighting contained while in here, Cid would kill me if we damaged anything." Genesis smiled happily, glad just to see his friend, "Agreed, I'd rather keep you alive so we can keep fighting." he said and turned quietly, holding his sword close to him to keep from hitting anything other than the Masamune. "Zack is pulling some dirty tricks!" Genesis said as the two of them got nose to nose, the two swords crossed nearly touching the ceiling of the room. "What do you mean?" James asked as he narrowed his eyes in focus. "He's planning on taking your brother's wife to use as ransom." the red coated warrior said. "Ransom? For what?" James asked as the two of them separated. "He wants you two to help fund his little campaign." Genesis said, as the two swords collided again and again, the two of them swinging in close as they fought. "Fund?" James asked, "Why, can't he pay for it himself?"

"Something like that! He's going to take her to a large ship yard out near Nibelheim!" Genesis said as he smiled. The two of them looked as if they were dancing, spinning close in tight, and clashing swords every few seconds, "Oh and I'm supposed to stop you any way possible!" Genesis added in as he backed away and pointed his sword at his opponent. "As if!" James said with a laugh, and jumped, making it to a catwalk almost two floors up, "I'm the one who knows all of the exits!" and turned, opening a shutting a door to the outside as he put his Masamune away. Genesis smiled happily, "I tried!" was all he said, and turned, walking away the way he came in.

James ran all the way to the deck, holding himself as far over the railing as he could to look for his brother. He saw the Fenrir miles away, the bike roaring across the terrain of the road as it caught up to the Shera. "I guess I know what held him up!" James said, and jumped over the railing, going into a dive as he pointed himself towards the moving motorcycle.

Robert focused on the road, turning his gaze only when he felt the thud of someone landing on the back of his Fenrir. "So I guess I'm right on time!" he heard James say. "On time for what?" he asked, and was answered when a bullet whizzed by his head. "Lend me your sword!" James said, "You drive, I'll take care of these guys!" Robert turned to look behind him, an army of motorcyclists in Z-Agent uniforms raced towards the two of them. When Robert turned back to the road, he flipped a switch, opening the sword holders on the Fenrir, and lifted himself up to stear with just his legs. "Nice!" James said as he began to spin the Masamune, deflecting bullets that the agents fired off. Robert quickly put his sword together, piece by piece after pulling them from their holders. "Here!" he said as he handed it off to his brother, "Hope you can use it!"

"Who said anything about using it?" James asked as he brought it in front of him. The bullets bounced off of the giant blade, shooing off to other directions or even just falling to the road. James quickly used the Masamune to swing at the closest bikes, slashing tires and cutting engines as they approached. They soon found a different strategy, by staying back and just pelting him with bullets. James quickly pulled his Masamune in front of him, and swung out. The wind blade that came from the swing crashed right into the front bike, slicing it at the tire and causing it to skid to the side, the others behind him quickly crashing into him. "Oh, turn here!" James said quickly as he looked behind him to the road signs. "Why, is this where Yuffie is?" Robert asked. "No she's near Nibelheim, I just want to stop off at that burger joint!" James said honestly. Robert turned his goggled eyes to the boy, one eyebrow raised as if to ask if he was serious, "What?" James asked, "I heard they were the best and I haven't been there yet." Robert simply shook his head, and kept on going past the stop James wanted to take, "AW!" the man groaned, "Party Pooper!" Robert punched it, causing James to jar forward, almost losing his balance. He wasn't going to stop until his he found Yuffie.

"What do you want with me?" Yuffie asked, she had been blindfolded and felt the thick ropes that tied her wrists behind her to something that felt like a wooden chair. She could also feel the bandages wrapped tightly around her waist and shoulder, stopping what she could only guess was a wound or two; she could feel the one on her shoulder. Her shurikan had been taken away from her, moved across the room to keep her from using it. "I just wanted your husband's attention!" Zack said, and placed a hand to her cheek. "You're so young. How did one your age get Mako Infused in the first place?" Yuffie didn't answer; instead she pulled her head away, removing the touch of his hand from her. She quickly felt her hair be grabbed, "You will answer him!" Angeal said forcefully. "Let her go." Zack said, and she was released, "We mustn't treat her this way, she is a woman after all." Angeal grunted, and she swore she could tell that he turned to her, "Yah, I guess!" he said. "It's the honorable thing to do!" Zack said, "Besides, she's also one of us, just lost and alone!" She heard them walking, and then the door shut gently, "Cloud!" she said to herself, "Please come find me!"

Zack walked out onto the metal grating, turning and descending a small flight of stairs, "Hey!" they heard Genesis say, "How'd it go?"

"I take it you were finally successful?" Zack asked. "Nope!" the boy said, "I lost and he got away!" Zack let his half smile fall into a frown, "You seem to do that a lot!" he said and continued walking away. "You have ten times the skill he does!" Angeal said as Zack disappeared, "Why can't you just beat him?"

"He's good!" Genesis told him, "He's no Sephiroth but he's really good. And it's like I can feel him holding back all the time, like he has no limits!"

"Just not the skill to use it!" Angeal said to the man, "Be careful or one day he will surpass you in skill, becoming better than you will ever be!" Genesis shrugged his shoulders, "I'm not worried!" he said. "Of course, a spy like you would never be worried!" Angeal said. "SPY?" Genesis said with fake distain, "Mwa? Never!" Angeal was just about to walk up to him, and look him in the eye, but they quickly heard the sound of the roar of a motorcycle engine from a distance, "It can't be, this early?" Angeal said and turned away, "We'll talk later!" Angeal walked away from Genesis, leaving the boy sitting against the wall of the building, smiling confidently. "I wish I caught the lock on his face on camera!" Genesis said happily.

"You can just drop me off here!" James said as the two of them entered into a large group of Z-Agents, each one of them surprised to see them speed on by. "Just clear a path for me!" Robert said harshly. "You got it!" James said, and lunged forward, swinging his blade in an arch to blow the enemy away. He landed on the ground and held out his brother's sword as he passed by, Robert snatching it up as he did. The man on the motorcycle brought his sword up, letting go of both handles as he pulled the back on his sword off. With one powerful swing, he split the wall of the first storage house open, letting his bike ride on through. "YUFFIE?" he called out and Zack came down, breaking through the roof. "You'll have to find her Robert, before my minions move her to a place you'll never find her that is!" he said. "Give her back to me!" Robert growled. "Gladly Robert!" Zack said and lifted his hand, as if to lift the other up from a fall, "I wouldn't separate such a loving couple for long. Just join us and she's yours!"

"What are you doing Zack?" Robert asked, causing the man to lower his hand, "What's it all for? Is there even any purpose to it?"

"Purpose?" Zack asked as he lifted the buster sword to his shoulder, "Only the greatest of purposes can become such a dynamic destiny." Robert could have guessed that it was all a world domination scheme, just like in some of his old cartoons where the hero has to stop the villain that knows he's evil, "I will become the hero that unites those infused with the power of Mako with the normal untainted population of this world."

"You call all of this being a hero?" Robert asked in surprise. "You don't see the big picture!" Zack said, and charged in, clashing Robert's old sword against his new one, "Once the Agents march of and attack the citizens under a false pretense of changing the world, I will swoop in after, oh I don't know, a decade or so and fescue those who are prisoners, defeat the threat of them all, and unite them for a common cause." Robert pushed against the other sword, knocking it away only to clash blades again as Zack skillfully blocked his strikes, "What happens when everyone figures out that you started this whole thing?" he asked as the two of them kept striking swords. Robert quickly placed the back of his sword to the main weapon, completing the sword, "They won't!" Zack said, "Without a leader for ten years, the Agents will branch off, making their own wars to free the Mako Infused from the cruel grip of the normal untainted tyrants." Robert growled before his jumped, with Zack following closely. Robert flipped just right, landing gently on the rafters of the building as Zack came in. The two of them clashed swords wildly, Zack ducked as Robert swung hard, the sword slicing through the beam connecting it to the ceiling instead. Zack then swing the Buster Sword, and Robert jumped away, leaping to the next beam as the support was severed. Robert brought his sword above his head as Zack jumped to meet him, bringing it down as the boy arrived. Zack countered, slamming the blade of the buster swords into the other, and flipping around it to land behind Robert and swing. Robert ducked, letting the blade of the Buster sword slice through the beam holding the support up, and with another mighty leap, landed on his bike, revving it up and racing forward as Zack landed in front of him. Robert was going to run him over, but instead jumped into the air before flipping the bike upside down and lifting his sword. Zack clashed the blade of the Buster Sword with the side of Robert's new sword, as the man and the motorcycle sailed over him. Robert let the bike hit the ground on its tires, and raced of toward the far side of the building. He swing his sword hard again, pushing the blade up from below, slicing a gouge in the wall and curling the metal outward, letting him fit perfectly through as he continued his search. "Run, run, run!" Zack said, "No matter how far you go, it'll never be enough to lose me!" Zack lifted the buster sword, looking into the blade with a small smile. The blade flashed red, turning Zack's smile into a frown as he remembered the power he could be wielding if it would transform for him.

Robert let the engine of his motorcycle sooth his nerves as he glanced from storage unit to pole barn, searching for something that would give him a clue to his wife's whereabouts. Suddenly he saw it, Angeal pushing Yuffie as he moved her to a large building on the wharf, her shurikans on his back. Robert turned the Fenrir, aiming right for them as they entered into the front door. Robert punched it, speeding up and crashing the bike through the doors. Suddenly he heard a loud siren, and metal doors slid down from above, locking them in. "Uh oh!" he heard Angeal say, "These walls are infused with the power of Mako, soaked in the Lifestream for hours, just like you!" Suddenly the wall behind Angeal began to move, arms stretching out form them and a large hideous face opening up, "And just like you, it has powers of its own." He began moving Yuffie again, but this time she struggled, pulling away from him, "Get…gerrr!" he grunted, accidently catching the creature's attention, "You…Really don't want to be here!" The creature reached out, grabbing Yuffie and pushing Angeal out the door. It reached out for him again, and Angeal lunged forward grabbing the handle and slamming the door shut as the hand grabbed the walls, never making a dent. "Cosmo Canyon Haunted Bank!" Robert said to himself, "Should have known!"

"Cloud!" Yuffie cried out, getting the thing to look at her, "HELP!" Robert revved the engine as the wall lifted Yuffie up, opening its mouth wide. He squealed the tires, moving his bike fast as he used his sword to flip the front deck. The bike used the table as a ramp, jumping into the air as Yuffie fell towards the creature's mouth. Robert grabbed her by the binds that tied her arms to her waist, and turned his bike just right so that it could ride along the wall for a short time, and out of the creature's reach. He skid to a halt, gently setting Yuffie on the ground. He quickly flipped his sword, cutting the ropes that tied her arms. "Go hide!" he told her, and turned to the wall. Yuffie ran off, ducking behind a pillar, leaving her husband out there to face the large beast.

Robert lifted his sword as he dismounted his bike, and placed it between him and the wall, "Alright you, let's get this over with!" he said, and dashed in. The wall threw its hand towards him, and he moved to the side, dodging the stringy fingers easily. He dodged as the other hand came in, slamming against the ground. With a quick swipe, the wall knocked him away, pushing Robert back towards his bike as he tried once again to rush in. Robert swiped at the hand that came swinging in, slicing it clean off as he ran by it. The wall looked to him angrily, and opened its mouth. Robert stopped in his tracks and lifted his sword like it was a shield. The blast of power that came from it knocked Robert back, again sliding to the Fenrir before stopping. "I can't get close to it!" he said as he lowered his sword, and watched the hand he had just sliced off grow back right in front of his eyes. His eyes opened in surprise only for a second, "Dang, should have known it wasn't going to be easy to beat that thing!" he said. "Try beating the both of us!" he heard Zack say and down the man came. The wall looked to him, and then back to Robert. "What's going on?" Robert asked. "This wonderful creature belongs to me." Zack said, and jumped forward, clashing his sword against Roberts before flipping over him. Zack then turned around, and clashed the Buster Sword into Robert's blade, forcing his opponent to step back towards the haunted wall.

'I've got to do something!' Yuffie thought to herself, 'But I don't have my shurikans! That Angeal guy took them from me!' Suddenly she heard something metal slide across the floor, and turned just right to find her Conformer only a few feet away from her. Her four point shurikan came sliding in next, causing Yuffie to look up. There, peeking through the same door that Angeal had disappeared through, and placing his finger to his lips, was Genesis, Angeal unconscious on the floor behind him. "Shhhhhh!" he shushed, and slowly closed the door behind him. Yuffie smiled gratefully, and dashed out, grabbing her shurikans quickly with both hands and tossing the Conformer at the wall before it could strike. The red throw blade struck the beast in the face, causing it to real back in pain as the cut healed. Zack locked blades with Robert, pushing so that the other man was bent backwards before turning to find her. "Focus on Zack, I'll keep the wall…thingy busy!" she said and threw her other shurikan as she caught the Conformer. Robert pushed harder, lifting Zack into the air and tossing him away. "Impressive!" Zack said as he landed on his feet, "I may have underestimated you a little!"

"Yah!" Robert said as he readied his sword, "I get that a lot!" and charged in, his sword clashing with the Buster Sword as they danced.

"I can't believe how matched they are!" Genesis said as he watched from the crack in the door. He was interrupted when Angeal groaned in pain, waking from his unconsciousness, "I'd love to watch more but it looks like I have some acting to do!" he whispered to himself, and knelt down, as if waiting for his comrade, "Hey buddy!" he said, "You ok?"

Angeal lifted his hand to his head, "You really believe me to find your antics amusing?" he asked. "Hey! You were like this when I got here!" Genesis said. "I doubt that!" Angeal said. "Really!" Genesis told him, "Now what happened?" Angeal looked to the man angrily, he was about to yell, but thought differently about it, "I'll be fine!" he said, "I just need a small ice pack to calm the pain!" Genesis smiled, "That's good to hear!" he said.

Robert let the two swords clash again and again, each striking the other, waiting for an opening. He could see the madness in his opponent's eyes as he heard them, the veil finally lifted from those menacing secretive widows. He kept backing up, staggering a little from the force Zack was generating with the enormous blade. Robert then turned, just right to see the damaged wall, and chanced a look, seeing Yuffie's shurikans as they cut deep into the flesh of the creature and returned to her. That one look was all it took, Zack clashed with Robert once again and reached behind him with his left hand, creating another sword, one similar in shape to the Buster Sword, but black in blade, and with two edges, one on each side. Zack pulled it down, slashing it across Roberts chest as the man pulled his sword away from him. "CLOUD!" Yuffie called out as she watched the other sword cut into her deep into her husband. Robert backed away as the Buster Sword was lifted again, and fell to his knees. "Gengggg!" he grunted, and could feel the blood flowing into his mouth. With a spit, he released it. "It's such a shame!" Zack said, and brought the sword down. Yuffie quickly tossed her four point shurikan at him, knocking the blade off course and landing at Robert's side instead. The man quickly pushed with his legs, slamming into Zack and knocking him to the ground. Instead of attacking the man, Robert kept on running towards the wall, the cry of battle shouting from his mouth as he raced toward the creature. The wall reached up and Zack lifted himself to his feet, just as Robert's eyes began to shine. Zack stopped in his tracks and the wall moved his arms to block the light. Robert jumped, spinning in a circle as he let his sword cut through the wall's skin all the way past its face. As soon as he reached the top, he jumped away, and the monster lowered its arms. It tried reaching for him, and exploded with the force of a tornado. The twister shredded the wall, breaking through the building's roof and ripping the wall apart.

Yuffie jabbed her conformer into a pillar as the wind tried to pick her up and Zack was forced to stab both of his swords into the ground. Just as quickly as it came, the tornado vanished, and Robert collapsed to the floor. Yuffie deshifted her weapons, and raced to him. She looked up as the sound of a familiar ship sounded loud over head. "Hope I'm not too late!" James said as he slowly descended in while holding onto a rope ladder. "He's hurt!" Yuffie called out, and James jumped down, grabbing his fallen brother. "Take him up to the Shera!" he ordered, "Get Aerith to heal him!" Yuffie nodded as James lifted his brother up. She stepped onto the ladder, and hugged him as James placed him just right as to not slip. "Bring them up fast, we got injured!" James said into a radio. "Got it!" he heard Barret say on the other side.

James looked around the room, finding the Fenrir as it shifted back into the old Harley, "I'll be taking that!" he said as he lifted his hand, shifting the Masamune as Zack tried to attack. He dashed in, grabbing the motorcycle with one of his arms, and then ran back to the hole in the roof. He turned and winked at Zack, showing that he had won against him, and jumped to the roof before jumping back up to the Shera. "Well, that's all of it!" he said and looked up as Aerith pressed her glowing hands to his brother's chest. "How is he?" he asked. Yuffie looked to the girl, eager to hear the outcome as well, "The cut was deep, but he'll be right as the rain in the desert!" Aerith told them both. Yuffie and James both smiled, and released the breath they both had been holding. Suddenly they heard an explosion, and felt the shake as it hit the ship.

"Damnit!" Cid cursed as he tried to steer the ship away from the attacks. "What the hell is going on down there?" He leaned over, looking down at the hundreds of Z-Agents that were firing at them. "Son of a BITCH!" he called out, "ALL YOU DAMN JACKASSES CAN SUCK ON A LIGHTNING BOLT!" Suddenly, a bolt of electricity shot down from the Shera, striking the ground where all of the soldiers were standing. "Thanks Aerith!" Cid called into the PA system. "That wasn't here!" he finally heard James call back. "Wait…if it weren't her… and I'm the one that said Lighting…then…did I do that?" he asked and pointed his ship away, taking it to where he could repair it.

Back on the ground, Zack looked up towards the sky, watching as the Shera escaped him. "Sir!" he heard Angeal say from next to him. "I have a bit of information to tell you!" Zack turned, only slightly angry at the turn of events, his ears open to listen of what his soldier had to say.

**To be continued…**


	15. Ch 15 Then It Was Past, Now It Is Future

**Chapter 15 – Then It Was Past, Now It Is Future**

"Hold on to something!" Barret shouted as he grabbed his wife's hand. The nose of the Shera had quickly begun to point down at an angle that could easily get someone not buckled down to slide towards the windshield. "DAMNIT!" Cid shouted in anger as he tried desperately to control the ship. Vincent grabbed onto one of the railings close to Cid, and held the small Red XIII in his arms. Cait Sith had planted himself in the cloaked man's shoulders, "This canne be happnin!" the cat shouted in fear. James placed his legs against the cross beams near the front, holding himself and Aerith in as much of an upright position as he could. Yuffie held desperately to both the floor and her husband, gripping one of his arms to keep the unconscious man from helplessly falling to his death. The grip she had was perfect, the floor was not. It gave out from under her grip, and Yuffie found herself hitting a lifted floor panel with her boots halfway down, sending the two of them falling into the glass of the Shera. It barely held, and Yuffie reached behind her head in pain, "OW!" she groaned. She then heard the cracks of the class spread as the pressure of her and her husband quickly became too much. "Son of a bitch!" Cid said and Mako Shifted his Great Gospel, "Shera pilot for me!" he said, and grabbed a nearby rope. The glass gave way and he jumped, spear and rope in his hands.

Yuffie kept a solid grip on her husband, making sure he didn't escape as she watched Cid place his spear into his mouth to create a knot at the end of the rope. He then slid it over the back end of his weapon, and tied the other end of the rope to his waist. "This is gonna hurt!" he told himself, and pointed himself into a full dive, catching up to his two falling friends. "Here!" he said, and wrapped them in the rope, "Stay on top of me!" He turned, and hurled his spear at the Shera as hard as he could, then wrapped his arm in the rope three times.

Shera was pulling as hard as she could on the console, trying to get the ship to level out when the Great Gospel sailed right past her head, burring itself in the back wall of the ship's deck. She once again pulled, and the nose began to level.

The rope tightened, hard. Cid could have sword that his arm was pulled out of its joints, but he didn't care, he wrapped one arm around both of his friends and kept them above him, using himself as a cushion for them. " #$%&%!" he swore as the pain in his hanging arm began to intensify. He pulled, trying to scale the rope with his friends in toe. Yuffie reached up, holding them in place while Cid lifted them higher. The older man took one quick look behind him, and did a double take, "Oh shit!" he said in surprise, "You might want to brace yourself!" Yuffie looked to the same direction he had been looking, finding the ground come up to them quickly. She waited a little, and when they were only inches from the grass, she reached up with her Conformer, cutting the rope and causing them to tumble around. They finally came to a stop, and Cid pushed himself up, just as he heard a loud crashing noise, not the sound of glass breaking, or metal bending in unnatural ways, but rather the sound of something hitting the ground, and digging into the dirt. He looked up; finding the Shera half buried in the earth, a large trench dug in the ground along the path the ship had taken. "Shera!" he gasped, and stood up, holding his arm as he traveled towards the ship, "Damnit SHERA!" Suddenly the back window shattered, and out jumped James with Aerith in tow. Barret and Tiffa came next, then Vincent and the two animals. "Ach!" Cait Sith said happily as he jumped from the man's shoulders to the ground, "Were alive! Ah canne believe were aulright!" Vincent smiled, sort of, and was quickly confronted with a very angry Cid Cast, "Shera!" he growled, "She'd better be alright!"

"I'm up here Cid!" he heard her call out, "I'm alright, just waiting for someone to get me out of here!" Cid instantly jumped, entering into the broken window of the ship, and looked around, "Shera!" he called out. "I'm down here Cid!" she said. Cid turned his head down, looking directly beneath him. There she sat, his Great Gospel spear in her arms. She looked up, and smiled at him, "Hi sweetie!" she said, and Cid dropped down next to her, "Are you alright?" he asked, and reached behind her, picking her up bridal style, "I'll admit, I've been better, but nothing's broken!" she told him and lifted his spear to his eye level, "You dropped this!" she said. Cid smiled happily, "Hold it for me Shera!" he said and turned, jumping out the window and landing on the soft grass. "Alright!" he said as he held her up, "I'm gonna need all the help I can get to fix this thing!"

"I can stand on my own Cid!" Shera said. "I don't care!" he told her, "It's been too long since I held you like this!" he said.

Night fell quickly as Cid worked with the rest of them while Aerith and Yuffie watched over Robert. He turned to look at the engine room, finding it in shambles. He quickly remembered what had happened earlier to cause such a major disaster.

_They had all been at ease as they sailed away from the madman named Zack, the Shera may have taken some damage thanks to the explosive fire from the Z-Agents but so far Cid had held her steady, wanting nothing more than to set her down in a safe place and fix the old bird. Something in the back of his mind told him that there had been more damage than he had originally thought but he ignored it, opting to take her to a better place for repairs. They had made it a good distance away from Zack so why stop now where he could pick up their trail. Cid's answer was given in the form of a loud explosion, one that caused the power to fail all over the ship. "Oh shit!" he said, and looked up at his dash. There was only one light on at the time, the check Engine light. "Oh %#&$. Don't tell me!" he said, and quickly the ship's nose began to dip. "Cid, was that the Engine that exploded?" Shera had asked. "Maybe, I can't talk right now!" he said, "I'm trying to keep us from crashing!" The nose dipped even more, causing everyone to grab each other and the cat to climb up Vincent's leg._

"Damnit!" he whispered to himself, and turned to enter in. He looked around, finding all of the parts he could salvage and knelt down, picking them up one piece at a time.

Robert felt something push against his stomach and then disappear, almost as if someone had stepped on him. He sat up quickly and held his belly in shock, not pain, "Oh come on, I'm not that heavy!" he heard a young familiar voice say. He opened his eyes, and the area around him was surrounded with light blue carpet. Off in the distance he could see the others, the people from the other world just sitting there and chatting. "Where?" he asked as Cloud came up to him. "He wasn't prepared for you Yuffie!" he told the young girl. "I'm still not that heavy!" she said. "You could be the size of a three year old and it would have had the same effect." the real Tiffa said from her position on the couch. The others laughed. The Yuffie of Cloud's world stuck out her tongue at the older lady, childishly showing her disapproval of the comment. "What happened?" Cloud asked. Robert stood up and rubbed the back of his head, "I guess I got distracted." he said. "You got caught off guard is what happened!" he heard this world's Zack say. "I didn't know he had two swords!" Robert said in truth. "I'm not going to reprimand you!" Cloud said, "I'm going to give you some advice!"

"Oh, I got one!" Yuffie said, "Always chew with your mouth closed!" Cloud gave her a glare, but was quickly interrupted again when Zack spoke up, "Bush your teeth twice a day!" he said. "And don't forget to floss!" Tiffa added. "Cute you guys!" Cloud said as he turned to them. He turned back to Robert, eyeing the boy, "Trust in your friends, then you don't have to worry about them!" he said, "Your wife could have taken care of herself in that fight easily, all you had to do was focus on Zack."

"I know, but I can't help it!" Robert told him, "It's just, I don't want her to get hurt! I've already seen that once!"

"You almost died!" Yuffie pointed out. "I'll be ready for him next time!" Robert told her. "And he'll be ready for you!" Cloud said, "You have to get stronger if you want to have any shot at stopping him!"

"I know that!" Robert told him. "The only way to do that is to just ignore the others as they fight!" Cloud told him. "I'm not going to just ignore her!" Robert said angrily. "What other path do you see?" Cloud asked calmly. "I see that path I'm taking!" his apprentice said, "The more I protect the others, the more power I can find! I'm not going to just ignore them and let them fight alone! I'll always fight alongside them, defending them from the things they can't see!" Suddenly they heard clapping, Cloud and Robert both turned to see Zack and Aerith patting their hands together in cheer, "Nicely said!" Aerith said to him. "Take that path and keep going, when it ends, just blaze a new one!" Zack said. "Yah, I'll do that!" Robert said, and the light blinded him, waking him up at the sunrise of a new day with his Yuffie snuggled up against him.

He smiled as he looked to her, 'When that path ends, just blaze a new one!' he thought to himself. He felt Yuffie shift as she tried to stay asleep, he knew that next she would probably rub her face into his chest but ultimately she would wake up. He was right, she rubbed her nose against his pecks and slowly woke up from her dreams, "I hate the sun!" she asked. "I thought the same thing!" Robert said. She looked to him, sleep still heavy in her eyes until reality set in, "You're awake!" she said with surprise as she shot up. "About time!" they heard Vincent say. The man appeared from the darkness of the wreckage as if he were a shadow, just being seen as the sun peeked out from behind the clouds. "Thanks Vincent!" Robert said in sarcasm and began to sit up. Vincent smiled a little, and lifted his eyes. They suddenly shrunk in shock and surprise as he gazed across the land. "What?" Robert asked, and turned to see himself and his wife sleeping on the grass outside. Behind him at a distance, he could see a large lake of normal blue water surrounded on one side by trees and what looked to be a small mountain range. Without another word, Vincent broke into a run, leaning forward and holding his left arm at his side, his right hand on the handle of his gun Cerberus. "What was that about?" Yuffie asked. Robert simply shrugged, and lifted up from his laying position. Yuffie quickly followed and the two of them began running after the cloaked man.

"It can't be, have we really?" Vincent asked himself, and focused, running as quickly as he could towards the lake.

"What do you think he saw?" Yuffie asked as she ran to keep up with her husband. "I'm not sure!" Robert told her, and kept running. It was a few minutes before they saw Vincent stop and examine the trees, before disappearing behind one of them. "Where'd he go?" Yuffie asked as the two of them reached the same tree. Robert stayed silent as he examined the tree. It moved straight up, branching off everywhere it could. The wild branches twisting and turning in every direction they could. Looking closer, he noticed the leaves, though green at a distance, the sparkled with a very light blue pulse in the veins, giving the leaves a kind of icy or supernatural look to them. Behind the low branches hung a large number of vines, moss and ivy mixing together in ways not normally found in nature. He reached back, taking hold of one of the vines with his gloved hand, "That ivy better not be poisonous?" Yuffie commented, and watched as he pulled the vine away. More came up with it, and like a curtain, the lot of them moved aside, revealing a larger area behind them. Robert clenched his jaw, gritted his teeth and steeled his nerves before ducking below the branch and entering into the curtain of moss and vines. Yuffie hesitated, and dashed into it, hoping that the leaves hadn't touched her. She ran into the back of her husband, and held her nose as if it had been injured as she took a step back. She looked up at him, finding what had stopped him instantly.

The area behind the vines was a large blue lake; the crystal water shimmering with the reflection of the sun's light as it bounced off of a nearby crystal growth off of the mountain in the middle. Around the large lake, the greenest grass grew from out of the ground, greener than any yard or park Yuffie had ever seen. Wild flowers grew in small and large groups, different colors of pink, yellow and blue mingling together as if partying with friends. They both could see why they hadn't found it before, the entire valley and lake was surrounded by cliff walls, as if the arms of the mountain had reached around it, enclosing it in a protective embrace. "This place is beautiful!" Yuffie said as a rare breeze of wind blew across the grass, exciting the valley into a waving dance of serenity. Robert looked out into the lake, watching as a few fish jumped and splashed in the water. "How did Vincent even know about this place?" he asked. Yuffie snapped back to reality, glancing around to find her friend, "Where is Vincent anyway?" she asked. Robert too looked around for his friend, spying a large cave along the base of the mountain. "There!" he said as he pointed to it, "He's got to be in there!" Yuffie followed her husband as he led her towards the cave, moving around the lake and dodging the flowers as if honoring a sacred land. Yuffie turned her head, finding what looked to be an old campsite near the lake's edge, a fire pit made from moss covered rocks and old burnt logs sticking up from the middle. She looked to it with worry and curiosity, it looked almost as old as the Mako in the ten or so years it has been on this world. She turned back to Robert, wondering silently why he hadn't seen it.

Robert ducked slightly, trying to fit through the opening of the cave, Yuffie followed, though the ducking was mostly unnecessary for her. Inside, they found a large room, circular in shape with a large purple crystal growing in the center, shaped in a similar fashion to a clam shell. Yuffie gasped as she found what the crystal had been growing around, a young beautiful woman in old tactical armor, her hands pinned to her breast as she looked to be praying. She was lifted above the ground, almost five feet, by the crystal growing from the ground. Vincent, who had been kneeling in front of the crystal, spun around, spying his two friends as they stood there. "What are you doing here?" he asked in shock. Yuffie ducked behind Robert, and peeked out from behind him, "You took off without telling us anything, so we got worried and followed you!" she said. Vincent relaxed, his arms falling back to the ground, "I see!" he said, and turned back to the woman encased in crystal. "I'd like you to meet my girlfriend!" he said, "This is Lucretcia Castle, my partner in life and war." Robert and Yuffie glanced back to the crystal, the woman looking up with her eyes closed, as if welcoming the captivity. She had long brown hair that was pulled over to one side with her bangs, it waved like being caught in the wind, yet stuck eternally in the glass like crystal. "She's beautiful!" Yuffie said. Lucretcia's face was perfect, her skin smooth with tiny dimples gracing her lips, Yuffie imagined her eyes opening, her light blue orbs gazing into Vincent's deep red ones. "I bet she was one heck of a shot!" Robert said as he turned to the red cloaked man. "I learned from her!" he said, "It took me fifteen years to perfect it, and she was still better than me!" Robert turned back to the crystal encased girl, her armor rugged and gouged near the mid section, as if clawed at from within. "What happened to her?" he asked. "We were camping here," Vincent began after some hesitation and thought, "Resting and gaining our strength after fighting off some Mako Monsters that came from the north. She was cooking fish, I think!"

"I saw the campground outside!" Yuffie said, causing her husband to turn to her. "You did?" he asked. All she did was smile at him, as if accomplishing something he hadn't. "Most of us had been injured in the fight!" Vincent continued, "Including her! Alexander and I were the only one who remained unharmed." He turned his head down, giving respect to his fallen friends. "It was because I got careless! She put herself in danger because of my mistake!" he said. Robert knew better, he wasn't going to ask what the mistake was, and when Yuffie tried, he stopped her, silencing her with a move of his hand and a shake of his head. "It happened so fast, people just began to shift into monsters!" Vincent said, and imagined it, the silhouettes of people bursting from their cloths into large hideous creatures. "We'd never seen this kind of spawning before, we were completely unprepared for it." Vincent said as he could easily hear the screams of his comrades as they faded into fierce growls. "Lucretcia fought it, I didn't even know she had been hurt until Alexander turned to her, and shot her with a prototype weapon he was having developed." he continued, the visions still running through his mind, "It encased her in this!" He turned back to the crystallized woman, the memories once again fading to the back of his mind. "We were forced to kill the rest of our team, all eighteen members as they continued to change into these creatures, and now…" Vincent said as he reached into his pocket, "All I have is this and her!" Vincent presented the small red orb, lifting it up above his shoulder so he didn't have to turn around. Robert nodded; understanding, yet not sympathizing. He'd had no experience in such a tragedy. Suddenly, he saw the orb in his friend's hand glow. Vincent himself was surprised when it lifted up from his hand, and floated right in front of Lucretcia's face. It shined a blinding light, and there stood both brother and sister, Alexander and Lucretcia. "I…" Vincent began as the two spirits floated there. "Hey, buddy!" Alexander said with a wave. "Are you not happy to see us?" Lucretcia asked. "I…I'm elated, but how is this possible?" Vincent asked. Robert gently grabbed Yuffie by the arm, pulling her outside of the cave as he respected the privacy of the three friends. "What are you doing?" Yuffie asked as she turned to him. "Give them their space Yuffie!" was all he said, "They haven't seen each other since, who knows when." Yuffie looked down, and smiled, "Ok!" she said and leaned into his chest.

It was several hours until Vincent emerged, a small smile on his face and, Robert could feel, a weight lifted from his shoulders. "You alright?" he asked, as he turned to his friend, he and his wife cuddling in the grass nearby. "I'm engaged!" was all Vincent said. Yuffie stuck out her tongue, "And she's not dead Yuffie!" he said as he smile disappeared. "Well, how do we get her out?" she asked. "I'll find a way!" Vincent said. Robert nodded, and turned, "We need to get back to Shera or the others will send a search party!" he said. Yuffie sat up and stretched her arms. They all heard the sound of an explosion off in the distance, "Oh I hope that was Cid starting an older engine!" Yuffie said as she looked in shock towards the sound. The three of them lifted, and took off towards the noise, and finding the Shera under attack as they exited the vine curtain. "Z-Agents?" Robert asked. "Is Zack nearby?" Yuffie asked. Robert scanned the horizon, "No, I don't think so!" he said. "It's not Z-Agents!" Vincent said angrily. Robert and Yuffie watched as his changed, even in his already Mako shifted form. His cape lifted and split, changing into large tattered wings. His skin darkened into a black and the leather around him tightened, becoming the skin of the creature. His headband stretched, tattered streams of fabric fluttering in an invisible wind as his hair changed, spiking up and fading into the same red as the fabric. His black gloved hand sharpened into claws as long as the metal on his gauntlet. His fangs grew in length and his eyes began to glow a menacing yellow. His chest melded with the cloth, and the left side, where his heart was, faded into a small orb of light surrounded by his dark flesh and red armor. "Not here!" he growled, his voice dark with a resonating rumble in the back of his throat, "Not again! Not to them!" He spread his wings, flapping once and soaring towards the group. "What is that?" Yuffie asked as she moved behind her husband. "I don't know!" was all Robert could say.

Vincent soared in, swooping close as he viewed the enemy attacking his friends. "Oh no not another one!" Barret said as he saw the red and black creature. "This one's cool!" James said as he found himself excited about the new arrival. Vincent turned his gun down, pointing it to the ground and pulled the trigger. It looked as if the bullets homed in on the various monsters, piercing right through their heads and into the dirt below. "Wait!" James asked, "It's on our side?" All of the monsters fell to the ground, only one standing as Vincent slowly came back to stand on the earth. "Keep your weapons steady!" Barret said, and watched his own wife pass him by. "Vincent?" she asked carefully. "What'd you say?" he asked. "It's Vincent!" Tiffa told him as she turned around, "Can't you tell?" Cid, Barret, and the others glanced at what they believed was a monster, and looked closer. "Well, I'll be damned!" Cid said as he recognized the features. "It's Vincent!" Red XIII said and shifted back into the cub. Vincent grabbed his head, struggled a bit, and faded back into himself. "Sorry!" he said, "Chaos was always the hardest to control!"

**To be continued…**


	16. Ch 16 Then He Vanished, Now He's Seen

**Chapter 16 – Then He Vanished, Now He's Seen**

"…And for this year of service I grant you the chance to go and see your family. I expect you back at the end of the day!" Zack said as he faced away from Genesis. The three of them stood in the same large room as before, the destroyed walls of the office building being very familiar to him. "Really?" the boy asked, "I can see my mother and brothers?"

"I don't give vacations out on a whim!" Zack said, "Please make the most of the time you have!"

"Oh I plan on it!" Genesis said happily, "Thank you very much!" Genesis ran past a shocked Angeal and out the door, "But, master!" he questioned, "Why would you reward a traitor?"

"I'm not!" was all Zack said, and kicked a desk name plated that had fallen to the floor as he walked into a large hole in the wall. Angeal bent down and picked up the plate, reading the name or President Rufus Shinra.

The Shera sat on the ground, readying for the time its captain would start up the new engine, "Well!" Cid said as he patched up the last of the old bird, "That auta do it!" He passed by everyone, grabbing a hold of Shera as he passed by, getting her to walk with him to the bridge. "Well?" he asked as he entered in, the magical wisps of Mako leaving his body and repairing the minor differences on the ship. "She's beautiful!" she said as the rest of them boarded. "Feel better?" Robert asked as he walked up to his station. "Much, I never like it when this old bird gets torn up! But I sure do like fixin her!" Cid said, and started the engine. The propellers once again began to spin, faster and faster until the ship lifted into the air. "Whoa!" Yuffie said as she began to lose her balance. Robert reached out, grabbing her by the shoulder to steady her. "Why can't you ever keep your balance during takeoff?" he asked. "I'm not ready for it!" she complained, "And the jar is enough to send Barret's football team to the ground!" "Wuss!" was all she heard Barret say. It was all it took to get her to turn her head and glare at him.

"…And now we will hear from our leader, Zack!" Angeal called out. He stood atop a large statue in the square. The statue was of a strange man, short and fat with a beard that wrapped around his mouth and up his cheeks without touching his chin. He wore a pressed suit and left a large pipe hang from his large smile. Underneath it had a plaque that said, 'Our founder, TAYLOR SHINRA'. Angeal jumped down, and up came Zack, stepping atop the statue's shoulders and breaking the pipe out of the statue's mouth without a care. Angeal watched as the piece of stone fell, smashing to pieces on the base of the statue. "Friends!" Zack began, drawing Angeal's attention from the defiled piece of stone, "This is our time. The hour we have worked and waited for is upon us!" At the end of his words, the crowd lifted their arms, and shouted in praise, "We, who have been assaulted and judged by those who have not the experience of drowning," he said, and the crowd shouted quickly in agreement, "Without the knowledge of betrayal!" Again the crowd agreed, "We, who have been wronged by those people that are considered normal, are now ready to teach them what it means, give them the experience of our pain!" The shout this time was loud enough that Angeal was sure the dead were rising up to shout at them. "Onward to victory!" Zack finally shouted, and the cry became deafening as they all shouted with gusto, the crowd turned to face one direction and then like an army, marched towards the outskirts of the town. Zack smiled happily as he watched the solders make their way, turning to jump from the statue and glare at it. With a scoff, he turned again and made his way towards the building. Angeal stood still, watching him the whole way, and turned once again toward the desecrated stone pipe lying scattered along the ground.

"What the hell is he thinking?" Cid asked as Robert told them what he remembered. "If I piece things together right, he's planning to start a long war between the normal untainted people and those who have been Mako Infused. During the war, he'll disappear and hide until both sides need his help, then he'll swoop in and kill the leaders of both factions and bind everyone under his rule!" Robert said. "Well, that plan's gonna backfire!" Barret said. "Actually it might not, but a lot of people on both sides are going to die if we let this go on!" Robert told him, and walked over to the front of the ship. With a large sigh, he looked down, and something came to him as a thought, "Cid turn around!" he said. "Wait, what?" the pilot asked. "He knows that I know of his plan, he's going to hurry it up. He might just attack now!" Robert said, causing the entire group to gasp. "But what can we do?" Tiffa asked. "Ey!" Cait Sith agreed, "It's not like we canne jist ahsk em teh let go of their beef init?" Robert slammed his fist into his hand, "I don't care, I'm going to try!" he said. Yuffie lowered her head, "Alright!" she said, "I'll try to. There are a few normal people that are my friends." Tiffa lowered her head, as well, "Well, I guess it's better than watching from up here!" she said, "Let's save the world!"

"I've done that before!" James said, "I told you video games were good practice!" Vincent restrained himself from slapping the man in the back of the head, but smiled, "An act like this would show the others that fighting wasn't the only option." he said. "And we might make some friends!" Red XIII said. They all turned towards the pilot, causing the man to blush, "Ah hell!" he said, "I'm in!" With a swift spin of the wheel, he turned the ship around, sailing towards the edge of the city.

The Z-Agents marched on their way, empty hands and eyes out on front of them, suddenly the city streets could be seen underneath the towering buildings, people walking on their way to work or with friends. The 'normal' people stopped, turning towards the spectacle of what looked to them to be a parade. "Ready!" the leader of the group shouted, and they all caused guns of different kinds to appear in the flash of a Mako Shift, "Aim!" he shouted, and the guns all lifted, pointing right at the people on the street, "ATTACK!" he said, and the solders, picked up their pace, jogging towards them. Each of the unsuspecting pedestrians glanced at them in confusion at first, but then realization set it, and the panic began. They all ran, turning and fleeing into the city as the bullets of energy began flying, "Keep advancing, we got em on the run!" one of them shouted.

"Damnit!" Cid said as they neared the city. He wore a large set of headphones with a curly wire that ran to a nearby radio. With a whip, he ripped the headset off of his ears, "You were right!" he said as he looked to Robert, "I heard it over the MH radio, the Z-Agent's are attacking the south side of the city."

"We need t get to them now!" Robert said. "It's too late for that side, they're almost half way across town and pushing the Mako Hunters back into a retreat!" Cid told him. "How can they be pushing the Mako Hunters back?" Tiffa asked, "They have Mako specific weapons!"

"Desperation and confidence are powerful weapons." Robert said, and turned again, "Head towards the battleground, let's make sure no other innocent people are hurt!" Cid pushed the Shera harder, making it fly as quickly as it could through the air.

Down he fell, a random man in the middle of the street hit the ground dead as the small group of Z-Agents advanced with wicked smiles. "Look at these pathetic wurms!" one of them said, "Once the Mako Hunters have been defeated, this will be a synch!" Each of them lifted their guns, each one different, all pointed at a group five people, three girls and two boys. They all laughed as one of the boys tried to step in front and was interrupted with something black fell in front of him. They all looked down at the human standing cat and his watch. "Leave, mah friends aloon!" Cait Sith said and lifted his device, "IFFRIT, shoo em who's boss!" From the watch, a stream of fire shot into the air, growing in size until it burst open, revealing a strong red furred minotaur like beast with upward facing horns. With a powerful roar, Iffrit lunged forward, and let a ball of fire build up between his hands. The Agents fired at him, backing up when they realized the beast was still coming. "I'm outa here!" one of them shouted just as Iffrit let the fireball shoot forward. It hit the ground, spreading across all of them as it impacted the ground, covering them all in hellfire. "Are ye aulright?" Cait Sith asked as he turned around. He was quickly scooped up in the arms of his friend Megan, "Och!"

"YOU RESCUED US!" she shouted happily. "I'm with her on this one!" Kelly said. "Sorry I doubted you Cait Sith!" Holly told him. "Ah, i's noothin!" he responded, "Ye, can let me doon noo!" Megan smiled brightly as she set the transformed cat down. "What took you so long?" Cait Sith heard the boy ask, and turned to see Mike standing there with another boy he didn't recognize. "Oi, wheer's yer other boyo?" Cait Sith asked, and Mike pointed across the street. "Ooh!" he said solemnly as he looked to a group of dead bystanders, "Mah apologies!" He straightened up just as quickly, "Ahnd A canne just pop in lak magic noo can A?" he asked, getting the three girls to giggle a bit.

"Keep going!" the MH Commander shouted as he emptied yet another clip into the army of Mako Infused solders, "They can't keep this up as long as we can! We're trained for this!" Another one of his men hit the ground dead, and he reached down, grabbing the man's gun before dropping his own and pulling the trigger. "These monsters will be defeated!" he shouted, and quickly ran out of bullets. Suddenly, a rain of ammunition fell from the sky, piercing through the Z-Agents and felling a group of them quickly. Barret landed on his feet, caving the ground under him a little. "Try dodging this!" he shouted, and again let his three barrels rapidly shoot into the Agents. Tiffa surprised everyone as she swooped down, back flipping at just the right time to slam her foot onto the back of a particularly large Z-Agent, knocking his face to the ground and his feet into the air before jumping off of his head and landing next to her husband. "Is everyone alright?" she asked. One of the MH solders simply nodded before the commander pushed him away. "What are you freaks doing here?" he asked roughly. "You looked like you could use a hand!" she said, and lunged forward, slamming her fist into a Z-Agent before spinning around and back handing another, sending him into three others. She took off again, running quickly through the army and into the center to begin fighting. "We don't need you're treacherous help!" the commander said harshly, only to get several shocked looks from his men. "Looks to me like you need us more than you want to believe!" they all heard Vincent say from behind them. The crowd split apart, letting the man walk through them unhindered. "He's so cool!" one of the girl solders said to another. "What the hell do you want Vincent?" the commander asked. Vincent didn't say a word, instead he pointed Cerberus, and fired, popping one of the Z-Agent's in the head. With a jump, he followed Tiffa and Barret into the fray. "Let them kill each other, then we'll clean up the stragglers!" the commander said, and found himself ignored by his own men, "With their help we might actually win this!" one of the solders said. "Better than trying to kill them, they've been kicking our asses!" another replied. "Who cares!" a girl asked, "This is our chance! We can win!" Cid landed in the middle of the enemy army, swinging his spear wildly as Yuffie dropped in next to him. Red XIII dashed in from the side, Cait Sith on his back and a sword in his mouth. Aerith and James landed on the edge, and the boy dashed in, the Masamune swinging away in his right hand and the girl casting spells. Suddenly, Bahamut the dragon came swooping by and the commander finally looked up, the Shera flying into view above the buildings. "Damnit!" he said as his own solders went rushing in to help fight the Agents. When the last of them had passed by him, he reached down, removing a full clip of ammunition from one of the downed solders, and walked away, disappearing into the shadows.

James jumped around, swinging the Masamune wildly, and releasing the wind blades from its edge. He glanced around, smiling as he saw the surprised faces on his enemies, and took one quick glance to the back. He forced himself to look again, spying Genesis just standing there, his face down to the ground and what looked to be tears streaming down his cheeks. James placed his one foot on top of the other, pushing hard and dashing through the air again, landing some distance in front of the boy, "What's up?" he asked. Genesis lifted his hand, pointing it as if he were holding a sword, and shifted his blade to barely touch James' nose. "You ok?" he asked in concern. "They're gone!" was all he said, and pulled his sword to his side, dashing in. James pulled his sword up and blocked, the two blades locking to place as if practiced. "Who's gone?" he asked. Genesis jumped back, "Just who do you think?" he asked and rushed in, slamming his sword against the blade of the Masamune. James was quickly pushed back, his boots sliding across the ground as he was forced back. "Are you talking about your family?" he asked as he came to a stop. "YES!" Genesis shouted and again dashed at James, "And it's all your fault!"

"How is it my fault?" James asked as he moved out of the way of the blade. "Zack told me, you cut off the supply trucks!" Genesis told him. "Why would I do that after offering to help?" James asked. Genesis seemed like he wasn't paying attention, he just continued clashing blades with James until he finally spoke up again, "If it wasn't you then who?" he asked. "I'm surprised you haven't figured it out!" James said, "I doubt Zack actually kept his word at all."

"It doesn't matter!" Genesis said and swung his sword horizontally, trying to take the head of his friend. James jumped over the blade, back flipping away from the angry man and landing again a good distance away, "You need to get over it man!" he said as he swung his sword vertically, tossing the wind blades at the man. Genesis thought for one second to let the blades hit him, but lifted his sword and blocked instead, "Don't talk like you know what I'm going through. Don't talk like you've seen the kind of death I just saw!" Genesis said, and lunged for his friend again. James let his eyes narrow in anger, and with one powerful swipe, knocked the sword out of Genesis' hands to land on the ground behind him. He lifted the tip of the Masamune to his friend's throat, and growled, "I do know it, first hand actually!" he said, gaining Genesis' attention, "First it was my mother, cancer took her away from me while I sat there, holding her hand as she suffered the pain of it. Then, my father and that stupid drunk driver! I looked at him, getting better as the wounds healed from the crash, and then, gone! I never got to say when I wanted to either of them! I just let it happen right in front of me!" Genesis stood as still as a statue as he listened to his friend's angry banter and watched the tears begin to fall down his cheeks, "At first I was angry at the world, locking myself in my room and playing video games all day. Then I would sneak out and take on daring feats that I thought would kill me, and send me to my parents, freeing me of my sadness!" he said and lifted his head, focus in his eyes yet kindness on his face, the anger still in his voice, "I blamed my brother, the driver, the doctors. But most important, I blamed myself. I even thought of helping those daring feats to take my life. It took a swift punch from my brother and the tears from his heart to knock me out of my own rut." James locked eyes with Genesis, concern and friendship back in his eyes, "What will it take to get you out of yours?" he asked.

Genesis glanced at his friend for a few seconds, letting the amount of information sink in, helping him to break free from his new sadness. "What do you do to keep the memory's from coming back?" he asked. "I remember the good times!" James said and lowered his sword, "You can't let one memory overshadow the rest. You need to give others those good times so that they can remember them as well." Genesis smiled as he tried James' technique and remembered the baseball games his father took him to, the days at the park and the aquarium with his little brother, and how his mother taught him to sew and cook, even though he was against it for the most part. It seemed to work, the sadness faded, though he knew it was still there. He could see it in James as well, pain and sadness, still inside, yet accompanied by the memories of happier times as well. "What kept you from trying to take revenge on those you blamed?" Genesis asked as he turned to pick up his sword. "I never liked revenge, or world domination, or sappy friendship speeches!" he said and Genesis laughed. "I know, I know. You just like that sword!" he laughed. "Actually I was going to say something about video games and actually make a sappy friendship speech," James said, "But you're right, that would have come up sooner or later!" Genesis laughed at that, and turned to him, "I think we'd better get going, I'm not sure how long your friends can hold those Z-Agent's off!" he said. James simply smiled and turned to the battle, "You know Zack's going to be pissed at you!" James said. "I don't care!" Genesis said as he stood next to his friend, "He pissed me off first!" The two dashed forward, calling out identical battle cries as they dove into the war at their front.

**To be continued…**


	17. Ch 17 Then I was Man, Now I am a God

**Chapter 17 – Then I Was Man, Now I am a God**

"ZACK!" Robert shouted as he fought his way through the battle field, "Where are you!"

"He's not here!" he heard Angeal say from behind him. Robert turned around, spying the man as he stood there, seemingly ignored by those around him, "Where is he?" Robert growled out. "He's not here, so it is me you shall face!" Angeal responded and lifted his version of the Buster Sword. "I'm not playing around Angeal!" Robert said as he placed the last piece of his sword together. "Neither am I, this time I kill you!" Angeal said, and lunged forward, clashing his blade into Robert's "I will be the judge of you!" he said and lifted his sword high into the air, "I will tell you if you are ready to face my master!" Robert jumped back, swerving around others as he dodged the blade of Angeal. He hopped on one leg as he zoomed away, keeping his distance from the sword wielding maniac. "Running will not stop my master, you are way too weak!" Angeal said angrily. Robert quickly turned, slamming his sword into Angeal's sword and knocking the man backward. "That's a much better plan!" he said as he skid across the ground using his feet to slow himself down and dashed in again, following Robert as they both moved through the crowd. "Angeal!" Robert shouted, "What are you doing? This isn't the only way to stop the persecution!"

"It is for me!" the man said, and dashed in closer, bringing himself above Robert with his sword raised. The boy spun around, bringing his blade up to guard and finding the other sword slamming into his, knocking him to the ground to skid to a stop. Angeal continued over him, landing a few feet away before spinning around with the sword once again lifted into the air, only to hit solid ground as Robert rolled away from the strike. Robert lifted himself to his feet, bringing his weapon up to block as Angeal turned his sword and struck the side of the blade. Robert lifted his sword, the other sword following as they were pressed together swinging both blades and burying both tips into the ground. The two of them pulled their swords out, and jumped away from each other, both breathing hard as they gave the other all of their power. "This fighting has to stop!" Robert said and lifted his sword up. "The fighting has just started, it is a warrior's honor to fight for his master!" Angeal said, and ran forward, slamming his sword into the ground where Robert used to be. "Huh?" he asked himself and looked up, watching as Robert flipped in mid air, and brought his sword down. Angeal jumped back, leaving his sword in the ground as Robert slammed his into the ground. Three beams shot forward, carving their paths into the ground as they traveled, forcing Angeal to jump again. With a powerful push on top of one of his own feet, Angeal dashed forward in mid air, causing Robert to lift his sword to block the man's punch. The force delivered pushed the man back, letting Angeal pull his sword out of the ground to charge in again. Robert lifted his sword high into the air bringing it down to meet Angeal's half way. "Your 'Master' can't even bother to show up at his own war!" Robert reasoned. "The Emperor of Japan never goes out to war, and yet the samurai that serve him lay down their lives for him!" Angeal countered and again lifted his sword, curving it around to try and strike at Robert from the side. Robert turned his own sword upside down, colliding the blade with his opponent's, "The Emperor at least has respect for the people **at** war! He weeps for those who fall and cheers for those who live, ally **or** enemy!" Robert said, and Angeal quickly remembered the disrespect Zack had given the statue, "Zack doesn't want anything more than just to be in charge! He won't care if you die out here, it'll just be one less person to contend with!"

"**ENOUGH!**" Angeal shouted, and pushed as hard as he could, moving Robert a few feet away and freeing his own sword, "I'll not have you speak that way about him, however it happens, he will be the hero that unites us all!" Robert moved back quickly as the blade slammed into the ground at his feet. 'He won't listen!' Robert thought to himself as he dodged again, 'He's blind, even to his own flaws. I'm sorry, you left me with no other option!' Robert jumped up, dodging the blade entirely as he let the power inside him overflow, his eyes bursting into the bright light. "NO!" Angeal called out, "HOW CAN YOU STILL LIMIT BREAK AFTER SO MANY?" Robert never said a word, instead he dashed forward, spinning in mid air to kick Angeal in the chest. The man backed up, clutching his chest with his hand in pain and looked up again, Robert dashed in, slicing down with his blade. He moved so fast, Angeal wasn't sure how fast but he found Robert a blur of blue light, the sword moving at lightning speeds as it cut through him like cutting water. Eight, nine, ten? He'd lost count of the strikes as the pain began to build up until finally, Robert launched into the air, curling the sword over his head, and letting the blade shine. In one last ditch effort, Angeal lifted his sword up, facing the flat side of the blade to block. However when Robert's blade hit his, it snapped his sword in two. The pain and shock of the large sword cutting through him paralyzed him, forcing his eyes wide open and his mind to finally clear, "Because I have to!" was all Robert said, and turned from him. Angeal could feel the blood seep out from the wound in his body, the paper thin slice that passed right through him, "The first impact!" Angeal grunted out, his whispers trying to hold himself together, "You'll find him…there!" At the last words, the blood spurted out, and Angeal fell to the ground, the life leaving him as quickly as it had come to him. "Thanks Angeal!" Robert said solemnly, "Rest now. I'll take care of the rest!" Robert turned his head, looking towards the direction the enemy had marched from. "CID!" he called out, catching the fisherman's attention.

Cid looked up at his name being said, spying Robert just standing there glaring at him. With one quick swing, he knocked three Agents away, and raced to his friend, "What's up?" he asked. "I know where Zack is, but we still need to help protect the city!" Robert told him. "Hell, we've got this pretty much wrapped up! I'll take you where you need to go!" Cid told him. Robert smiled, "Thanks Cid!" he said and the two raced off of the field.

Aboard the Shera, Cid looked around as he glanced through the floor, "Damnit, how could I fergit where the damn impact sight is?" he asked himself. "It's over there!" Robert said as he pointed towards what looked to be a dead city, one that had been abandoned for years. "Well, I'll be damned!" he said, "Neo-Salem! That old city used to be the most popular place in the world!" Robert nodded his head, "And that is where the largest Mako Pool is located!" he said, "The Mako hit hard in one single spot there, burrowing under the entire city. The people all died there, whether instantly or by Mako Poisoning, they all died!"

"Talk about a 'Ghost Town'!" Cid said uneasy, "I'll let you off and make my way back to the others. Hopefully they left a few of them for me!"

"Just be careful Cid!" he heard the woman next to him say, "I'd still like to see you alive! Besides I have a surprise waiting for you when you're finished."

"Hot damn, probably your homemade gumbo soup!" Cid said, causing Shera to smile and chuckle. "I'm glad you made that for my wedding!" Robert said as he neared the door while strapping a parachute to his back, "That was the tastiest gumbo soup I've ever had!" With that, Robert fell over, letting himself topple out of the airship and go into a nose dive. "And he says his brother's crazy!" Cid commented.

Robert smiled as he felt the wind rush past him, a familiar feeling thanks to his brother, he remembered the time when James and a few friends of his had wrapped him in his blankets and somehow, without waking him, transferred him onto a large van. He had woken up during the ride and found that not only did they grab him some of his cloths, they had also booked him and James for skydiving lessons, and now he was glad they had. Robert let his arms open up, leveling himself out as the ground rushed up at him, and again tucked them in to dive at the spot he knew the Mako had hit. Again he opened his arms, right on target, and reached to his shoulder, pulling the cord from the parachute and letting it open. He drifted down, sure that there was no one left to challenge his journey to find Zack. Suddenly, a blast of energy similar to his own Blade Beam came soaring at him, and with one quick decision, Robert brought his base sword out and cut the strings on his chute, causing him to fall to the ground. At the last twenty feet, he flipped, landing on his feet gracefully.

"I never knew you were so stubborn!" he heard Zack say as the man revealed himself from inside one of the buildings. "And I didn't know you were so twisted, this is not being a hero!" Robert retorted. "The term 'hero' refers to one who saves the day." Zack told him, "By causing the greatest calamity this world has ever seen, I will single handedly end suffering and unite all people in this world. We won't have to worry about 'cures' or 'differences' anymore! Won't that be nice?"

"What happens when people find out that it was you who caused the calamity in the first place? You'd never be seen as a hero!" Robert responded, "I think the term 'Villian' suites you better! You intentionally cause the pain of others to satisfy your own desires!"

"Then the hero would be, who? You?" Zack asked in a laugh, "It doesn't matter how the calamity starts, the one who ends it will be the hero!" With those words Zack lifted the Buster Sword to his chin, and reached his hand up to it, again pulling the power of the Ultima Weapon down, changing the sword into the crystalline blade. Robert was surprised when Zack forced his way down the blade, reaching the tip slowly, and ripping the power away, transforming the sword by force. "You really think this makes you a hero?" Robert asked, lifting his own sword, "A hero is someone who will risk his life to do what's right, not someone who wants to fuel his own ego by sacrificing innocent lives for a title!" Zack rushed in, clashing his new sword to Roberts base sword, "I don't remember that in the dictionary!" he said coyly and pushed again causing Robert to skid backwards into another building. He rushed in again, trying to let his sword find the flesh of his enemy, instead all he hit was a wall. "Huh?" he asked himself and waited for the dust to settle, Robert had vanished.

"I just couldn't help it, I panicked!" he heard a familiar voice say, the high pitched teenager sounded like she was in a small panic. "You can't just yank him out of his world!" another female voice said, this one was one he hadn't heard yet, it commanded respect and had a fire that burned in its words. "I didn't 'yank' him. I 'yoinked' him!" the teenager said. "It doesn't matter!" the other girl said, "You took what didn't belong to you again!"

"Do I really have to put him back?" the teenager asked, "He just had these eyes that said, take me home with you!" Robert could feel another presence approach, one he knew all too well, "What's going on?" Cloud asked. "Cloud, tell her I can keep him!" the teenager asked. Instead he felt Cloud's hand on his forehead, "Go, find the strength inside you!" he said and Robert could tell that the hand moved away, then the falling began. It didn't last long, but when he opened his eyes, there standing in front of him, shrouded in grey fur, was a lone wolf. The wolf stood there, glaring at him, almost daring him to move. Then it turned, almost like it was going to leave, but looked back. Robert glared at the wolf, wondering what it had in store, but stood anyway, following behind the large wolf. A few feet away, and he finally saw a cave appear out from the white world. The wolf kept going, as Robert stopped in awe, and at the entrance, the wolf turned to look, making sure he was following. The boy gulped down his fear, following the wolf into the cave, and finding three pups, and a mother. The large wolf joined its family and looked back at him again before the wolves faded away into nothing.

Zack looked around, his eyes focused on everything and nothing at all, looking for the body, or a sign of his opponent. Suddenly, the lights in the building went crazy, flickering on and off in random increments. "ZACK!" he heard from outside, and with a shock, ran to the hole in the wall. There he stood, instead of the old uniform he now had a shirt that sprouted into a hood at the neck, with two shoulder guards instead of one and had cargo pockets attached to the sides of his pants and he had no sleeves. The gloves he had on were the same, short and black, otherwise he looked the same. "What is this?" Zack asked, and all Robert did to respond was to put his sword out in front of him. Zack did the same, lifting the Ultima Weapon out in front of him, readying themselves to fight each other.

Zack made the first move, darting in again to try the same thing. Instead, Robert lifted his sword, and batted the Ultima Weapon aside. Robert then came in, swinging his sword across and back the way it came from. Zack reacted by Mako Shifting another sword, the black double edged sword he had before. The two blades connected, and Zack was pushed back, away from Robert as if he were a bug being swatted away. Zack quickly recovered himself, and darted in again, with the same result. 'I don't understand this!' he thought to himself, and jumped into the air, 'I have the sword, the strength and the destiny, why am I being overpowered so?' He swung the sword over his head, throwing the blade down as five large boulders fell from above, 'Is this some kind of test? A trial to push me to my goal?' Robert stood there, shifting another of his swords, and smashing the rocks to dust as they flew at him, 'If so, then bring it on! I'll handle anything in my way!' Zack thought as he rushed in again, locking blades with Robert. He reached back with his other sword to attack. Robert lifted the second blade, blocking the second strike. The two glared at each other for a moment, and then separated, Robert connecting the second sword to the base before he landed. "I see!" Zack said, "You think you can trick me into putting your sword together!" He rushed in, the tip of the Ultima Weapon pointed at Robert, "It's not going to work!" he shouted, and like a flash, the two were standing in front of each other, both glaring at the other with intensity.

Zack was the first to flinch, his smile growing into malice, and then down, as he grunted. He looked down, finding one of Robert's smaller swords piercing his side a little, and his arm wrapped around the handle of the Ultima Weapon as the blade changed back into the Buster Sword. The other sword was now in his left hand and pinned firmly against the blade of Zack's second sword pinning the tip into the ground. Zack tried pulling on the handle of the Ultima Weapon, agitating his side as he did. The sword didn't budge, and he was forced to release it and put a hand to his side in pain. "I…I don't understand!" he whispered hoarsely to himself, trying to keep the pain inside. "It's over Zack!" Robert said, and shifted the now Buster Sword to his hand. It instantly transformed, back into the Ultima Weapon. "I see!" Zack said, "It was you the entire time!" Robert looked to him as he started to back up, "The Ultima Weapon, it chose you, because you are a part of it!" he continued, "You were in their as the energy was absorbed into the Buster Sword! The energy is also inside you!" At that, Zack turned and ran deep into the building behind him. Robert ran after him, hoping to catch the man before he did something drastic. They ran together through the building, weaving through rooms until Zack seemed to disappear. "Where is he?" Robert asked, and turned, seeing a hole in the wall near the desk. Cautiously, he crept towards it, ready in case Zack tried to ambush him, instead he heard the man laughing. "I can see it clearly now!" Zack shouted as Robert crept through the tunnel made from debris of other buildings and asphalt from the road. It looked both manmade and natural at the same time, too old for Zack to have built it, but still out of place, "This must have been made by the people who became monsters!" Robert guessed, and suddenly he found the tunnel dip below the ground, winding and turning several times before opening up into a large cavern, with a giant Mako Pool inside. "This is why I was lead here! This is what I was chosen for!"

"ZACK!" he heard Robert cry out, and lowered his head, with his hand holding his side. He lowered his head, glaring madly at the green liquid in front of him, "Don't you see it yet?" he asked, "This is the world's largest Mako Pool."

"What are you thinking Zack?" Robert asked as he crept up to the man. Zack quickly turned around, ignoring the pain in his side as he did. "You took it all away!" he said suddenly, causing Robert to freeze in his steps. "I was going to be a hero, I was going to be the one who brought justice and peace to the world. But now, it's you who has that title. So I began thinking, if I can't be the hero this world needs, I'll just kill the hero and become its GOD!" he said and with his final word, Zack stepped back, tumbling into the Mako Pool head first. Robert raced to catch him but failed his hand only inches from the man's foot.

The second he heard the splash, the entire pool began to glow, the light erupting in a violent outburst of power. "Son of a…" Robert said as he shielded his eyes from the power. The light faded and Robert looked over the edge, the pool beginning to circle around where Zack had splashed down. "Uh oh!" Robert said, and felt the ground shake, "I gotta go!" He turned around and bolted, racing down the crumbling corridor as the debris started to become dislodged and fall to the ground. The boy lifted his sword, the Ultima Weapon, above his head to keep the falling stone and mortar from harming him as he ran. With one final dash, he exited the hole in the wall, and dashed away as the ground underneath him began to crumble away. "Oh shit!" he shouted as the breaking ground caught up to him. He jumped, reaching piece after piece as he tried to climb up to the edge. He took one final jump to reach out and save himself. It was as if he was moving in slow motion, his hand reaching out as he de-shifted his multipiece sword to free it up, and missed. His surprise was enough to keep him quiet as he fell into the blackness.

**To be continued…**


	18. Ch 18 End of Crisis

**Final Chapter – End of Crisis**

He couldn't even see how far he fell, he only knew he stopped when his back hit the ground, his vision turning white for a second as the pain rushed through him quickly. He shut his eyes hard as he tried to push the pain back into the ground he landed on. He slowly turned on to his side, opening his eyes to see where he was and how to escape. Instead he saw light emanating from one spot, Zack. He looked very different now even with his back turned to him, his black pants now turned white, and he had several angel wings draping off of his hips like a belt or skirt. His shirt had been completely removed from his ensemble and he had eight large angel wings sprouting from his back and his black hair cascaded down his back, spiking out everywhere it could. "It's incredible!" he heard Zack say, and out from behind the wings rose his arms. He had what looked like feathers sprouting from about half way up his forearm into a plume or tuft of feathers that reached his elbow. "This power! I never knew it even existed!" he said. "What have you done to yourself?" Robert asked causing the man to lower his arms. "Isn't it obvious?" Zack asked, and turned around slowly, "I have become more powerful than I could have ever imagined, I have become this worlds new god!" Zack flapped the wings on his back and hips to lift into the air easily. "You've become a monster!" Robert shouted as he brought the Ultima Weapon out in front of him. "If I am a monster, then I will be the ultimate monster!" Zack said, and lifted both of his arms, turning his hands down to the ground as he flexed his muscles. Robert felt the ground begin to rumble under his feet, and up from the ground on both sides of Zack, a pair of swords flew up, and swirled around the monster.

The blades were double sided, each with a design of a vine like etching that shaped both a diamond and a heard near the middle. At the tips of the blades, two notches were carved into the metal, and the hilt of the blades looked as if it were a spade with wings coming from the sides, a gauntlet attached to the base with a horizontal handle hidden inside.

The blades spun around Zack several times as his grin widened, and just as quickly slid onto his hands, covering the skin on his arms up to the tuft of feathers. "THIS TIME, IT ENDS!" Zack shouted, and crossed his blades in front of him before spreading them apart, flapping his wings to stay aloft.

Robert crouched down, flexing the muscles in his legs as much as he could, and jumped. He brought the Ultima Weapon behind his head, and clashed it against one of the blades Zack hand. Zack responded with a malicious grin as they nearly touched noses. With nothing more than a powerful push, Robert went flying back to the ground. He hit the stone floor hard, using his legs to flip himself over, righting his position as Zack came flying in. Robert once again lifted his sword to block, and was barely able to hold his balance as Zack raced on by, striking the blade only once to knock the man onto his back. Robert made a guess, rolling to the right with his eyes closed and hearing the metal strike of Zack's blade hit the ground where he once sat. Robert then stood up, swinging the Ultima Weapon with all his might, and hitting Zack's other sword. Zack easily pulled the blade from the ground, holding it high in the air, "And so the hero falls, to the might of the god!" he said and brought his blade down. Robert moved quickly, backing up as the blade slashed down, cutting him in the chest and through his shirt. "TCH!" he scoffed as he placed his hand against the flesh wound. "So you continue to fight even with such overwhelming odds?" Zack asked confidently. "I'll keep fighting, if only to protect my friends!" Robert told him, and lifted the Ultima Weapon into a defensive position. "Yet all you can do…" Zack said, and dashed in, slamming his sword into the blade of his opponent's sword. Once again Robert found himself flying back, and this time into a wall, "Is protect yourself!" Zack finished. Robert pulled against his arms, wrenching them from the stone as he removed himself from the imprint of himself, "How do you know that they'll be there in five years, ten years? How can you rely on others who are different than you are?" he heard Zack ask as he stood back up. "I can because I know the power of those differences! I'm stronger because of my friends, and I can rely on them to finish the battle you just started!" he shouted. "What?" Zack asked. "You don't know it, but my friends and family are fighting your agents right now, and I'm betting they're on the winning side!" he said.

Back at the battle, Tiffa kept slamming her fists into the faces of the Agents, punching them as hard as she could while her husband backed her up. She was quick with her strikes, punching and kicking the enemy with all she had. She took one more strike as she darted forward, leaving her husband's side for an instant. The moment she struck the agent, there was a powerful explosion that erupted from her fist, knocking both her and her opponent away from each other, "Uh?" she asked herself as she looked up at her husband and his three barreled gun, "Did I just Limit Break?"

"Sweetheart, if you can do it, so can I!" he told her and lifted his gun up to the sky. A light blue energy quickly built up in between the three barrels, and launched into the air with a blast, "BOOYAH!" he shouted as he felt the power leave his gun. The energy reached into the clouds, causing lightning to form and surge. "Really?" Tiffa asked, "You just said that?" She was distracted when the energy came back down, slamming into the ground in the middle of a group of agents. "Yes dear, I did!" he told her with a smile, and changed his gun back into a mechanical hand, "WOOOW!" he cheered as he pumped his fist. He quickly turned, and slammed that fist into the face of an approaching agent. "I think I married a crazy man!" Tiffa said with a mixture of excitement, worry and humor. "Focus you two!" Yuffie shouted as she found herself surrounded by enemies. She quickly spun around, reaching her conformer out as she did, cutting the entire group down. Vincent jumped over her, turning upside down quickly and pointing his Cerberus the way he came from. Three quick shots, and he found himself not followed anymore, "Alexander!" he called out, and the giant castle turned to listen, "Take Bahamut and Iffrit and make sure the reinforcements are late!" The castle seemed to nod, and the three summons turned to make their way to their positions. "Ah hope he knows what he's doin!" Aerith said as she rode the back of her dragon. James and Genesis stood there behind her, each with a smile on their faces. "He's got something up his sleeve!" James said as he looked down. Bahamut was the first on the scene, spying an army more than twice the size of the first marching towards the battle field, "This is my stop!" James said, and leapt from the back of the dragon as Bahamut let off a massive blue fireball towards the enemy. He pointed himself at the attack, wanting to surprise the troops as he arrived. "HEY!" Genesis called out, "Wait for me!" and jumped off to follow his friend. Aerith smiled as they dropped down, "Ah kin tell, they're better friends now!" she said. Bahamut tried to turn his head and look at her, his eye brow lifted to ask if she was serious.

"So as you can see Zack, you've lost this war, there will be no where for you to run after this!" Robert said as he continued. Zack stayed perfectly still, glaring at the boy as he spoke, his face contorting into anger as the information was relayed, "There will be no throne, no offerings and no worship, the war is over, and…" Robert continued. He was interrupted when Zack dashed in, forcing Robert to lift the Ultima Weapon again and block several strikes from Zack. He quickly decided to jump and avoid the man and reach a higher rock. Zack flapped his wings, all of them, and followed quickly, striking again and again as Robert swung his sword to block. Again Robert jumped, this time over Zack as the two of them fought, flipping once to try and attack at the same time. Zack lifted one sword and blocked, the blade of the Ultima Weapon scraping across it as Robert continued his flight. With a smooth landing, Robert ran off again towards the edge of the rock and jumped to another one, Zack close behind him as he landed. They engaged again, both swinging wildly to attack and block as they spun and flipped around each other. Robert ducked one strike, and jumped back from another, making his way to the back, and running close to the wall of the cavern. With a quick flip of his wrist, he Mako Shifted his full multipiece sword just as Zack came in close, trying to attack without warning. Robert jumped again, flipping over Zack, his head only inches from touching hair with the monster as he spun around to face the same way, and landed behind him, both swords at his sides. He brought the blades in, and Zack lifted both of his swords, blocking the scissor strike easily. He then opened all eight of his wings and pushed Robert backwards and almost off of the rock he was standing on. Instead of trying to regain his balance, Robert pushed off, back flipping to another rock just a short distance away. He spun in mid air again, facing away from Zack as the man lifted one of the swords in his hands. He landed in a crouch, and jumped again, letting the rock he had been standing on be split in half by the power of the other. Zack flapped his wings again and chased Robert along his path.

The guard pushed his legs to spring as hard as they could as quickly as they could, leaping from rock to rock as Zack tried to catch up with him. He landed on another rock close to the wall of the cavern, and turned direction as Zack's blade pierced the wall that would have been in front of him. He ran to the edge of the ledge, and lifted his feet up to the wall, running along it as Zack followed close. Robert looked up just as Zack lifted his swords, and Robert reacted, swinging his swords to collide with his opponent's half way as he continued to run along the wall. He reached another ledge and continued, the war of two blades raging on above him as he ran along the walls again. He quickly made a sudden stop as Zack kept going on, and flipped down to the ground, catching the back of his blade on a ledge to swing around a pillar, and hide from the winged man. "Ho!" he breathed to himself, "I'm glad James signed us up for that Parkour class all those years ago!" He turned just in time to see Zack turn the corner, and lifted his swords to cross in front of him. The force Zack asserted when he slammed into him lifted Robert off of the ground, causing him to fly into a wall on the other side of the cavern, and drop to his face, his two swords falling to his sides. He began to stand up, grabbing both blades as he did, and felt Zack's boot hit him in the chest, knocking him to the wall again and forced him to a seated position. He quickly felt the tip of both Zack's swords press against his shoulders, threatening to be pressed into his skin. "I am all powerful!" Zack said and began applying more pressure, "What makes you think I'll be afraid of your friends?" Robert could feel the blades slowly pierce into his skin, wetting his shirt with his own blood, "I'll start with your brother, or maybe that girl you call a wife!" Zack said, catching Robert's attention and anger, "How would you like that?"

Robert let the memories of his wedding, their first date, and the time they met run through his mind. The memories pushed him, drove him further, and he dropped his swords to the ground willingly this time. He reached his hands into the slots of Zack's blades and pushed with all of the strength he could, slowly removing the tips from his arms. Zack pushed back, slowly losing ground as the metal of his swords finally exited the man's skin. Robert then pushed the two swords away, letting them burry into the rock behind him instead and grabbed the handles of his two swords before lifting his feet and kicking Zack in the chest. The god found himself pushed back several feet as Robert lifted himself back up, both swords firmly in hand, "I won't let you anywhere near them!" he said furiously, and his eyes started to glow again, "What's this?" Zack said, "I thought you could only Limit Break seven times!"

"I am the man that breaks his limits, THIS is my power!" Robert shouted, and lifted the Ultima Weapon into the air. From his back sprouted metal wings, the stem separated from his back as it floated there, like a bone with a large crescent moon shape on the top. Another piece floated above that, shaped like the edge of a can with two spikes extending off of the top. The five blades on each were strait and sharp, like the blade of the Buster Sword, each getting smaller as they traveled down the wing. In the center of the hole made by the stem and top part, spun a strange blue gem shaped like a large twelve sided die, the gem itself spun in just about every which way it wanted. The only thing connecting the wing together, and to his back, was the green mist of Mako, shaping itself around the blades and into the wings of an angel. "I am Robert Gaia, code named Cloud. I will not let you destroy everything I know and love, it ends here Zack!"

Zack scoffed, and flapped his wings to rise into the air flying up to reach a different level than his opponent. Cloud crouched down, leaping into the air right at him, and clashed swords with Zack. The two easily stale mated, and Zack found himself confused as to how Robert wasn't falling. It felt to him like the man he was fighting was pushing harder, "What is this power?" he asked. Robert simply pushed the man away, his two swords held tightly in his hands as he slowly brought them to his sides. "This is the power my friends gave me, and I plan on using it to defeat you!" Cloud said, and rushed in again, clashing his swords into Zack's, by passing him entirely. Zack flapped his wings, again, harder this time, ascending up to the opening of the hole in the ground, trying to escape. Robert turned and made his way out to chase him, Zack using his swords to break pieces off of the sides of the narrowing entrance and tossing them at his pursuer. Robert swung his swords at the projectiles, slashing them in half and some times more as he chased Zack to the surface. In one last ditch effort, Zack spun in a tight circle as he made his way into the sunlight, shredding the opening and letting the rocks fall towards the man following him. Robert pushed forward faster, dodging the smaller rocks and destroying the larger ones as he burst through the collapsing opening.

The two of them hovered there, glaring face to face as they stared each other down. Zack tried to make the first move, but Robert was quicker, dashing off to one side, and circling Zack quickly. Zack let his eyes open wide in disbelief, and turned around to see his opponent floating there smirking. "It's over Zack." Robert said confidently, "Stop this madness and turn yourself in! That way no one else has to die!" Zack narrowed his eyes in focus, and flapped his wings with all of his might, racing towards Robert at speed that had his opponent startled. Robert lifted both of his swords up to block, finding the speeding Zack almost like an animal on the hunt as they clashed swords. Robert flew up, chased buy Zack a few feet before he flipped over and let the winged man pass him by. Zack quickly turned around and once again chased his opponent. Robert turned around and let Zack's swords clash with his own. He leveled out, flying straight along the ground as he turned again, finding Zack keeping up with him. The wild dance the two of them made was erratic, sharp, and defined. Robert darted up again, this time with Zack nearby. They separated again, only to come back and meet in the middle, clashing blades and passing each other. The two of them repeated the action several times before Zack stopped and spun in a circle, his two blades held out at arms length. Robert held out his swords, letting the tips of Zack's swords scrap his to come to a stop. He let his blades follow the path that they were lead into by Zack's swords, and stopped them, turning the path in reverse and clashing the blades again, stopping the deadly spin of the winged man. Zack then turned the unoccupied blade to his opponent, trying to stab Robert in the chest. Instead he pulled his hips forward, letting the blade slide behind him harmlessly. Zack tried to turn the blade, but somehow Robert spun with it, keeping himself out of harm's way before taking off again. Zack began to chase him again, this time into the airspace of the battle.

The Agents looked up with pride as they saw their leader flying around, keeping pace with the other man. "Holy shit!" Tiffa said in surprise. "Cloud?" Yuffie asked. The two factions turned their heads back to the battle, and this time with more vigor, began fighting again.

It seemed as if the two warring titans in the sky didn't even notice what was below them as they fought, each one keeping the pace of the other as they danced. Robert made a suddenly move, backing up from the man to break the pattern of metal hitting metal to move further into the city. Zack followed, his anger radiating from deep inside his core. Robert watched, waiting as Zack neared him. He stopped, leaned back and let Zack's blade soar right over him. With a quickly turn, he let his eyes shine again, the power to break his limits shining through. Once again the fighting stopped, the people still alive turning to watch the spectacle.

Cloud lifted his multipiece sword to swing it in the air above him, touching the blade to his back. Zack darted in, trying to stop the attack before it happened. Robert tossed the sword at his enemy, the blade coming apart with a light blue aura surrounding it like fire dancing around the blade. It never struck him, instead it lifted up, creating a circle above him like a halo, causing him to stop in surprise. Robert dove down, the Ultima Weapon in his hands as he touched ground and raced up, slashing Zack up the center. The floating blades then turned, the tip facing Zack, and rushed in, passing by the middle before falling to the ground creating a much larger circle on the roof. Robert stopped in mid air, spun the Ultima Weapon in the air and turned back down, again slashing Zack down the middle and landing in the middle of the ring of blades and on the top of a tall building. The air in front of Zack compressed, it seemed as if it would crush him as he reeled from his new injuries, and then it expanded in a flash, like an explosion, sending him to the ground in front of the warrior as Robert swing the Ultima Weapon in a circle in front of him and place it on his back, like a victory dance.

On the ground, the Agents watched as their master fell, and with fear engulfing them, turned to flee. "I think we won!" James said as he let Aerith peek out from behind him. "After them!" they all heard the MH solders say, "Capture them all alive! They have to stand trial for all of the lives they've taken!" They all stood still as the other solders raced past them, one solder stepping up to Yuffie and removing his mask. There under the black metal, stood the detective. "Captain Thalwald?" she asked. "Hey, don't look too surprised, I do undercover operations as well. Besides, this was a lot more fun than clean up!" he told her. "I'm just glad it was you and not that crazy general guy!" she said. "Speaking of which, I never saw the general pass by us!" Tiffa told her. "Oh no!" she said, and ran past Thalwald, "CLOUD!" she screamed. Without a word the detective ran with her, trying to keep up with the ninja.

"I'm sorry Zack!" he said softly. Zack struggled to get to his feet, leaving both of his swords on the ground. "I was…supposed…to be the hero!" he grunted as he felt his strength leave him. "A hero doesn't start problems or keep others from them, all they do is give others courage to fight for themselves." Robert responded. Zack trudged forward, reaching out with one hand and collapsing into the arms of his opponent, "Was I really so wrong?" Zack asked, "Was everything I did in vain?"

"No!" Robert told him, "You started something, I just wish you would have stopped. I wanted you to see it for yourself." Zack simply smiled, and looked up. His eyes opened wide, almost as if he could see something that wasn't there, "Such beauty!" he said to himself, "Am I really worthy of this?" Zack slowly reached his hand out, wrapping his fingers around the air as if to grab another hand, and stood up. With labored steps, he walked forward, disappearing as he went, in a wisp of Mako sprites, little balls of green energy that faded quickly. Robert stood back up; watching as the man disappeared, finding a better place to live. He let the sun rest against his skin, the warm rays soothing whatever stress he had.

Gunshot, that was all he heard, and the pain of several bullets piercing his back swept through his body. The pain alone made him fall to his knees, and the sounds around him dulled until they were nothing but thumps from a far away drum. He could feel his power fade; the wings on his back disappear like smoke from a shell. The bullets stopped when he heard shouting, familiar voices all muffled together as if a thick wall were between them and him. A man struggling, and being thrown to the ground. Then he felt familiar hands try to hold him up as he let his body fall backward. He looked up, finding the fading face of his wife, his beloved Yuffie. "Hold on!" she said, her voice muffled severely. Then, black.

He didn't know how long he was asleep, he just knew that he was. He was warm not cold as he expected, though the arms wrapped around him might have had something to do with is. He opened his eyes slowly, the lids twitching at first as he let the light in slowly. He felt stiff; his arms, his legs, even his mind. With great effort, he lifted his hand, touching his face. Then he heard a crash, the crash of a metal tray hitting the ground, "OH MY GOSH!" he heard. He opened his eyes even wider as the person next to him shot up, "WA!" Yuffie shouted, "What, what?"

"You're awake!" the nurse shouted and turned to the door, "Let me go get the doctor!"

'Doctor?' he asked himself, and turned his eyes as he saw his friends and brother enter the room, "Why do I need a doctor?" he asked out loud, catching Yuffie's attention. "You're awake!" she said and leaned in, grabbing his face and kissing him on the lips. He didn't mind, but his head was still reeling. James whistled twice, causing Yuffie to blush and break the kiss. Instead of snapping back at him, she just looked embarrassed. "What happened?" Robert asked as he felt his strength slowly return. "Dude, you got filled with a clip's worth of anti-Mako ammunition, a victory present from the MH2 General himself." Genesis told him. Robert nodded, and the doctor he remembered from before came in, pressing a stethoscope to his chest, "Amazing!" he said, "After the surgery I was doubtful of your recovery, there was just so much damage!" Robert looked to him with curious eyes, wondering if he had any other intentions, "Hey, don't worry bro!" James said as he walked up to him, "The Mako Hunters division 2 has been disbanded completely! And the general has been tried for attempted murder on your behalf! Thalwald really let him have it in the courtroom, it was so cool! I just wish I had the whole thing on video!"

"How long was I out?" Robert asked, and Yuffie turned to him, embracing him in her arms, "You've been asleep for three months!" she told him. 'Three months?' Robert asked himself. "You've been called a hero! Worldwide!" Yuffie told him, and reached behind him, pulling the Buster Sword from against the wall, "We got your swords back for you!" He smiled at her, and kissed her on the lips. Again James whistled, but this time the two ignored him.

Several months later, they had all finally relaxed, getting back into their lives as much as they could. The hype from the hero title had died down a bit, letting them finally have some peace and quiet without having to sneak along the rooftops from crazy fans. James had more business now than he thought he could handle, but was happy to be able to hire Jessie, Biggs and Wedge to help him around the shop. Robert and Yuffie on the other hand had moved into his father's old house, the one left to the boys after his demise. It was there that a peculiar ring of the doorbell brought them to meet with Captain Thalwald, who now had a shiny new badge that said Chief on it. "Chief Thalwald!" Yuffie said as she let him in, "Has a better ring to it than Captain!"

"Yah, I thought so too!" he replied as he was escorted to the living room. "Robert!" Yuffie called out, "Thalwald's here to talk to us!" Thalwald placed his finger in his hear and rubbed it while she was turned, but feigned innocents when she turned back. Robert came from the kitchen, rubbing his hands in a dish rag as he walked. "Hello detective!" he said. "Not a detective anymore!" Thalwald said, "I'm actually head of the combined Mako Hunter's force! Chief to be exact!"

"What?" Yuffie asked as she sat down, "Are the Mako Hunters a police force now?"

"Sort of!" Thalwald said, "There are still lots of Z-Agents out there, and it's our job to bring them in." Yuffie looked out the window and sighed, "It's incredible, the Mako Infused are actually becoming a part of society, the Mako in there system is being stabilized rather than trying to be destroyed."

"We've learned a lot from your group of friends," Thalwald said and leaned forward, placing his chin in his folded hands, "Which brings me to the reason why I'm here! Mako Monsters have been popping up all over the place now that Zack's gone, like a plague that's broken out of its jar!" Robert and Yuffie looked to him, curious as to what he was talking about, "I'm trying to put a team of mercenaries together to hunt down these monsters and keep them from getting the idea that attacking humans is a good idea. I call it the AVALANCH Unit. And I want someone I can trust!" he told them. Robert and Yuffie looked to each other. "Of course it will only be on call, and I assume that the calls will be few and far between, so you'll have plenty of time to rest after each mission!" he finished. It was when Yuffie smiled that Robert turned back to them, he Mako Shifted the Buster Sword, and placed it on his shoulder, "You'd better make it worth our while!" he said, and smiled himself.

**The End**


End file.
